While most of the country took President-elect Donald Trump’s victory calmly, California has emerged as something of an exception.
Shortly after Trump’s victory, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) called a special session of the state legislature to “safeguard California values and fundamental rights in the face of an incoming Trump administration.” Others took their own initiatives — Los Angeles declared itself a sanctuary city for immigrants. However, the move was largely symbolic, as California itself is already a sanctuary state.
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Sanctuary cities and states limit their cooperation with immigration authorities in order to protect illegal immigrants. The status of sanctuary cities was a huge area of contention under the Trump administration. Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, warned Democratic officials in sanctuary cities and states that they could be prosecuted if they impede deportation efforts.
However, as Republican Assemblyman Bill Essayli explained to the Washington Examiner, the Trump administration could force an end to California’s sanctuary status through less overt, but possibly more effective means.
“Now I think what could be done, what should be done, is Congress… a lot of ways that Congress can shape state policies is with money,” he explained. “That’s how they use highway funds to basically set the speed limit nationwide, and say, ‘You’re not getting highway dollars unless your speed limits are X.’
“They nationalized the drinking age at 21, they did that using highway transportation funds. So the Congress could certainly withhold federal funds and say, ‘Look, you’re not going to get these tax dollars unless you revoke your sanctuary state laws,’ because Congress doesn’t have to give the states any money.”
The first Trump administration didn’t use the tactic, something Essayli blamed on the relatively short period that Republicans had unified control of the House, Senate, and White House, and the allegations of Russian collusion that drew much of Trump’s initial attention. This time around, with more experience and a consolidated Republican Party, the strategy could more easily take effect.
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Essayli is confident that despite California’s strong liberal convictions, a cutting off of federal dollars would quickly bring it to its knees.
“There’s so much money the states get for healthcare and every other issue. I mean, the state gets billions of dollars from the federal government. So I don’t know how long California could survive if its federal funds were cut off, and it’s a very powerful tool,” he said. “I mean, we’re already facing budget shortfalls. I don’t believe the state can operate without federal dollars.”
“Medi-Cal alone cannot operate without federal dollars,” Essayli added.
Trump is fully aware of the strategy, having hinted at implementing it if he took office while on the campaign trail. He specifically targeted federal disaster aid, in a state which can rack up tens of billions of dollars in damage due to wildfires.
“We’re going to take care of your water situation, force it down his throat, and we’ll say: Gavin, if you don’t do it, we’re not giving any of that fire money that we send you all the time for all the fire, forest fires that you have,” Trump said at his Coachella rally in October.
The president has full authority over the procurement of disaster aid. Matt Sedlar, climate analyst at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, told the Los Angeles Times that though California could appeal a denial of aid, the president ultimately decides on the appeal.
Such a move, especially in regard to federal disaster aid, would be sure to whip up a political firestorm, however.
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“It would be a hell of a stink from members of Congress and Senate putting a lot of pressure on the president, particularly given what Trump has said is his agenda,” Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) told the outlet. “I guarantee that would happen: political blowback and a lawsuit.”
Whether or not Trump decides to implement the strategy, Essayli said that Trump would launch “wide operations within these blue cities to go out and get the criminal legal aliens, with or without the help of the local officials.”
