Essential Politics: State Senate committee moves to assist immigrants, what California’s members of Congress are saying about Trump’s executive order

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Tuesday that the United States had faced trying times and political crises before, and has always persevered.

“Yes, we’re going through some difficult moments right now, as we have in the past, but I guarantee we will work our way out of this,” Schwarzenegger said, speaking at an electoral reform event at the University of Southern California.

He recalled immigrating to the United States and seeing the violent protests at the Democratic National Convention in 1968, Watergate and the economic troubles during President Jimmy Carter’s tenure.

“One thing you can count on in America is even though it falls every so often — as we all do — it dusts itself off, gets up and gets going again,” Schwarzenegger said. “That is why … it’s the number one country in the world.”

Although Schwarzenegger did not mention President Donald Trump by name during his remarks, the comments appeared to be a reference to the turbulence since Trump took office less than two weeks ago.

Tensions between Schwarzenegger, who replaced Trump as the host of “Celebrity Apprentice,” and the new president and fellow Republican have been escalating. On Monday, Schwarzenegger called the implementation of Trump’s temporary ban on immigration from several Muslim-majority countries “crazy.” The previous week, Schwarzenegger slammed Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, Oklahoma Atty. Gen. Scott Pruitt, as a hypocrite.

Earlier in January, Trump mocked Schwarzenegger for the first ratings of “Celebrity Apprentice” after the former governor took over as the host. During the presidential campaign, Schwarzenegger repeatedly made clear his disdain for Trump, pointedly casting his ballot in the California primary for Ohio Gov. John Kasich after he had dropped out.

On Tuesday, Schwarzenegger was headlining an event about redistricting reform at his namesake institute at USC. He did not respond to reporters’ questions after the event.

While governor, Schwarzenegger championed electoral reform, including an ultimately successful effort to take the redrawing of congressional and legislative districts away from politicians and give them instead to an independent commission.

Both political parties have long tried to use gerrymandering to create districts that favor their politicians.

But David Daley, author of “The True Story Behind the Secret Plan to Steal America’s Democracy,” argued that Republicans were able to make unprecedented changes in the 2010 redistricting that will have long-lasting effects on this nation’s politics because of a confluence of factors, including unprecedented technology such as mapping software, and a flood of anonymous money due to the Citizens United ruling.

“In 2010, gerrymandering enters its steroid era,” Daley said.

The end result, he said, was that while the nation remained relatively closely divided between the two parties, the GOP was able to exponentially expand its hold of statehouses, governor’s mansions and congressional seats.

Speakers urged Californians to take the lessons they had learned through the state’s redistricting reform and try to help voters apply them in other states, through the initiative, or legislative or legal systems.

“We are the model for the rest of the nation and that is why we in California have to do everything we can to pull together all the things that happen successfully in California and nationwide,” Schwarzenegger said. “Because the rest of the states are waiting for us.”

On Sunday, Tom Steyer was holding a cardboard sign saying “not on my watch” at San Francisco’s airport, one of thousands protesting President Trump’s order preventing visitors from several predominantly Muslim countries.

“I went out there to participate, but also to listen,” he said.

Like other liberal leaders, he’s been hunting for the right approach to counter Trump. Now the deep-pocketed Democratic donor is launching a new effort that could expand the scope of NextGen Climate, the San Francisco-based organization he created and funded.

Although Steyer expects to stay active on environmental issues — the onetime hedge fund manager is best known for advocating stronger steps to fight climate change and support clean energy — he’s looking to play a more expansive role in opposing Trump.

“The number of issues that have to be addressed are broader,” he said in an interview, pointing to Trump’s statements on issues such as voting that he considers to be a broader attack on “fundamental American rights.” In a video posted on Tuesday night, Steyer says, “I promise to do everything in my power to stand up to Trump” and asks for the public’s thoughts on what next steps should be taken.

Steyer spent $74 million in the 2014 midterm election, and then millions more last year to support Hillary Clinton and other Democrats. Although results have been mixed — Republicans gained ground in both years — Steyer said the experiences have positioned NextGen to educate and mobilize voters across the country.

“There are very few people who are set up organizationally to do what we’re trying to do,” he said.

Steyer has already played a role in opposing Trump’s nominees, running advertisements criticizing his choice for secretary of State, former Exxon Mobil Chief Executive Rex Tillerson.

Besides simply fighting Trump, Steyer also hopes to project an alternative view of the country — one that comes with a dose of California sunshine.

“America can pursue a much more optimistic, a much more prosperous, a much more equitable and a much healthier future,” he said.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) called President Trump “reckless” and his administration “incompetent” Tuesday night for his executive order last week banning refugees and visa holders from seven countries from entering the United States.

Pelosi was participating in a CNN town hall and responding to a question from a Yemeni woman whose mother cannot enter the country, when she said, “Your family is suffering because our president is reckless.”

You can see the full exchange below along with some other highlights from the town hall.

Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Norwalk), who turned 80 last year, has not made plans to retire. But one San Gabriel Valley politician is raising funds to run in case Napolitano does decide to bow out after 10 terms in Congress.

Mary Ann Lutz, the former mayor of Monrovia and a former aide to Napolitano, reported having $101,000 in the bank to run for Napolitano’s 32nd Congressional District seat, according to a new filing with the Federal Election Commission.

But Lutz says she will run only if Napolitano retires.

“I have enormous respect for my former boss, Congresswoman Grace Napolitano, and would never run against her for any office,” Lutz said in a statement. “In the event that the 32nd Congressional District seat eventually opens up, I plan to run, and run aggressively.”

Napolitano suffered a minor stroke last February that affected her ability to write and slightly slowed her walk.

She continued her reelection campaign and beat state Assemblyman Roger Hernandez (D-West Covina), who effectively ended his campaign in August after a judge granted his ex-wife’s request for a domestic violence restraining order against him.

During an interview with The Times a day before the November election, Napolitano said the health of her 90-year-old husband would be a key factor in her decision on whether to run for an 11th term in 2018.

“I would love to stay but it depends,” she said. “I will be ready to hang it up when I am ready.”

Lutz was elected in 2003 to the City Council in Monrovia, a city of 36,000 in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, and was elected mayor in 2009. She lost her reelection bid in 2015 and went on to work for Napolitano as an advisor on water issues.

Lutz raised $26,000 and loaned her campaign committee an additional $75,000. Napolitano has $144,692 in the bank if she wants to run again.

(John Moore / Getty Images)

A state legislative bill seeking to expand legal services for immigrants in the U.S. illegally moved out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday on a 5-2 vote. The bill, introduced by state Sen. Ben Hueso (D-San Diego), would create a legal defense program funded with state money that would provide lawyers for immigrants caught in deportation or removal proceedings.

It comes roughly three years after the Unaccompanied Undocumented Minors program began providing state-funded legal services for young refugees fleeing gang violence in Central America.

Hueso said the measure faced new urgency given President Trump’s executive orders last week on immigration.

“This is a bill protecting Californians, protecting their families, but also protecting California’s economic prominence,” Hueso said. “I hope we can all stand united on this and say, ‘Yes, we stand by our immigrant community in California.’”

Members of the committee raised concerns about whether it whittled away at defense services available for detainees convicted of certain crimes — and over how the state would be able to afford it amid a looming deficit and budget cuts from the federal government.

“It is well-meaning, but it is a whole different agency that we are setting up in an expedited way,” Sen. Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont) said.

Read More

(Alexis Cuarezma / For The Times)

A California lawmaker wants state officials to consider greenhouse gas emissions when making new purchases, a proposal that would add a new wrinkle to the bidding process for government contracts.

Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) said the legislation (AB 262) would “harness the state’s enormous buying power to support clean manufacturing.”

The measure, which includes state agencies and university systems, would affect the purchase of materials such as asphalt, cement, steel and glass for projects such as hospitals, dormitories and roads.

Companies bidding on state contracts would be required to report greenhouse gas emissions generated by the manufacturing and transportation of supplies. Officials would then factor that information into their decision.

Given California’s goal of slashing emissions, Bonta said he hopes that the legislation “puts the state’s money where its values are.” He doesn’t expect the requirement to report more information would be a significant burden on companies seeking contracts.

“This will just be one more piece of information that will need to be added,” he said.

(Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

As national debate and protests have taken place over President Donald Trump’s executive actions on immigration and refugees, the state Senate Public Safety Committee on Tuesday passed the first of several bills aimed at protecting immigrants in California.

Senate Bill 54, introduced by Senate President pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles), would prohibit state and local law enforcement agencies from using resources to investigate, detain, report or arrest persons for the purposes of immigration enforcement.

The proposal, dubbed the California Values Act, also aims to protect immigrants’ personal data, requiring state agencies to review their confidentiality policies and to ensure that they are only collecting information necessary to their departments.

It moved out of committee with a 5-2 vote.

The bill seeks to strengthen immigrant protections threatened under Trump’s executive actions. In orders signed last week, the president pledged to cut federal dollars from so-called sanctuary cities, which have policies limiting the cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities.

At a committee hearing Tuesday, De León said the proposal builds on the California Trust Act, which Gov. Jerry Brown signed in October 2013. The state law prevents law enforcement agencies from detaining immigrants longer than necessary for minor crimes so that federal immigration authorities can take them into custody.

A long line of immigrant advocates, lawyers and lobbyists rose in support of the bill, saying it would continue to help law enforcement officials build trust within immigrant communities and allow more victims and witnesses to report crime.

Democratic members in the committee urged their Republican colleagues to vote for the legislation and move away from Trump’s rhetoric, which they said stereotyped immigrants as criminals. They pointed to low crime rates in immigrant communities and stressed that many police chiefs do not want to enforce immigration laws.

Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), chair of the committee, said people across California were under economic stress that could be manipulated into fear.

“All of us want hardened criminals prosecuted under the law,” she said. “All of us. But what we are watching now is a pitting of people against each other, a targeting of immigrants.”

Opponents were not swayed. They said the bill’s language was too broad and could prevent communication among police agencies at different levels of government, allowing dangerous criminals to escape prosecution.

“I’m concerned that you are basically making the state of California a de facto sanctuary state,’” Sen. Jeff Stone (R-Murrieta) told De León.

Jose Gomez, at his home on South Hicks Avenue in East Los Angeles, is among thousands whose yards have been tested for contamination from the former Exide plant.

(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

Assembly Democrats unveiled a package of five bills Tuesday aimed at reforming the state agency tasked with regulating toxic substances.

The Department of Toxic Substances Control has been roundly criticized for its flat-footed response in regulating and cleaning up pollution from the now-closed Exide battery recycling plant in Vernon.

A Los Angeles Times review in 2015 found the department knew for years that the plant was violating environmental regulations but was slow to act on it.

“Too many communities, including communities I represent, have been harmed by toxic emissions that were released into their neighborhoods — emissions that could and should have been stopped,” Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) said in a statement. “The goal of this legislative package is a more transparent, accountable, and responsive Department of Toxic Substances Control — and safer and healthier communities throughout California.”

The proposed legislation includes:

• AB 245 by Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles), which would require hazardous waste facilities to comply with higher financial assurance requirements to make sure there are adequate funds for contamination cleanup.
• AB 249 (Gomez), which would increase maximum penalties the department can assess to match what the federal government can assess in similar situations.
• AB 248 by Assemblywoman Eloise Gomez Reyes (D-San Bernardino), which would require hazardous waste facilities to submit permit renewals two years prior to the current permit’s expiration to avoid lapses.
• AB 246 by Assemblyman Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles), which would promote the use of fence line monitoring by facilities to better detect leaks.
• AB 247 by Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens), which would create a statewide task force focused on reducing lead poisoning in the state.

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein announced this morning that she will vote “no” on the nomination of Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions for U.S. attorney general. The statement comes after protestors visited Feinstein’s home and office out of concern that she may vote in favor of the nomination.

“It is very difficult to reconcile for me the independence and objectivity necessary for the position of attorney general with the partisanship this nominee has demonstrated,” Feinstein said Tuesday. “We are being asked to determine whether this nominee’s record demonstrates that he will have the objectivity to enforce the law for all Americans and be an independent attorney general and not an arm of the White House.”

Feinstein is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which votes today on the confirmation of Sessions to be President Trump’s attorney general.

Feinstein pointed to former acting U.S. Atty. Gen. Sally Yates as an example of what she is looking for. Yates was fired Monday, just hours after she announced that the Justice Department would not defend Trump’s controversial executive order banning refugees and travelers from certain countries.

“Yesterday, early in the evening, we clearly saw what a truly independent attorney general does…I have no confidence that Senator Sessions will do that,” Feinstein said. “Instead, he has been the fiercest, most dedicated, and most loyal promoter in Congress of the Trump agenda, and has played a critical role as the clearinghouse for policy and philosophy to undergird the implementation of that agenda.”

Dozens of protesters concerned that Sen. Dianne Feinstein could vote to confirm Sen. Jeff Sessions as U.S. attorney general gathered Monday evening outside her office in Santa Monica.

Several held signs bearing the familiar “No Ban, No Wall” slogan that Trump protesters have used in recent days. Others chanted, “Hey, Feinstein, hear us shout, if you don’t we’ll vote you out!”

Organizer Hannah Allison with Democratic Socialists for America said her group pulled together the protest over the last couple days. Word about the protest spread late Monday through social media, with many others pledging to call Feinstein’s offices to register opposition to Sessions’ appointment.

“People are so absolutely outraged about Sessions and they don’t want to see a racist attorney general,” Allison said.

Wesley Taylor, 30, said he heard about the protest through word of mouth.

“I came out here to make certain that she votes no,” said Taylor, an actor.

The protest follows similar action over the weekend, when an estimated 200 protesters showed up at a park next to Feinstein’s San Francisco home, urging her to vote against Sessions. Organizers of that protest told the San Francisco Chronicle that they were responding to what they felt was unresponsiveness from Feinstein’s office.

The Senate Judiciary Committee, on which Feinstein sits as the senior Democrat, is expected to vote Tuesday on Trump’s appointment of Sessions. So far, Feinstein has voted with other Democrats to support Nikki Haley for the post of U.N. ambassador, James Mattis for secretary of Defense, Mike Pompeo as CIA director and John Kelly for secretary of Homeland Security.

Feinstein’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Noor Hindi, left, and Shah Najjar, middle, join the protest at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday.

(Al Seib/Los Angeles Times)

President Trump’s executive order Friday, which blocked U.S. entry to refugees and nationals of seven Muslim-majority nations, brought thousands of Americans to the nation’s airports in protest over the weekend.

Several Democrats from California’s 54-member congressional delegation joined constituents at airports, and lobbied customs and Border Patrol officials to release the detained visa holders. Many of the state’s 14 Republican representatives were initially silent on the executive order. Several have since voiced their support, while others were critical of the order’s rollout.

Here’s a look at what each member of the California congressional delegation has said about the executive order:

Read More

Protesters are held back by airport police on Sunday at LAX.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

After nearly two hours of debate, the state Senate on Monday passed a resolution that condemned President Trump’s executive order banning immigrants and refugees from seven predominantly Muslim countries, calling it “discriminatory overreach.”

Democrats introduced the resolution after the president’s order Friday spurred a weekend of protests and chaos at airports across the country. The resolution denounces Trump’s actions and urges the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to comply with federal court orders permitting detainees to have timely access to counsel.

It cleared the Senate floor with a 26-11 vote largely along party lines, reflecting the national rift over Trump’s immigration order. Two Republican members abstained.

On the Senate floor, Democrats called the executive order an affront on religious freedom that panders to fear and foments discrimination, and said it would not further public safety. Reaching to members across the aisle, they said the resolution was not about partisanship or opposing Trump, but about protecting American institutions.

In a fiery speech, state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) said the order is unconstitutional and violates fundamental rights.

“You see this is how we end up with fascism and totalitarianism,” she said.

Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) said she did not want four more years of executive orders “crafted in the cover of darkness.”

But Republican members said that President Obama had taken similar actions and that they had a duty to their constituents, who were worried about national security and a vetting process they said did not stop terrorists from entering the nation’s borders. Obama has rejected comparisons of his policy to Trump’s.

“We do not welcome those who have come here to harm us,” Sen. Jim Nielsen (R-Gerber) said, urging a “no” vote. “We cannot ignore contemporary reality. Our enemies do not reside beyond our shores. They are within.”

The resolution states that 134 million people are temporarily barred from entering or reentering the United States, including nationals with dual citizenship. Hundreds of thousands with visas are also blocked, it says.

The resolution also denounces the manner in which the executive order was executed, saying it was not fully vetted by the departments tasked with protecting the nation’s national security interests.

California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra.

((Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) )

A joint statement by 15 attorneys general over the weekend condemning President Trump’s refugee order grew out of a meeting in Florida between California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra and some of his concerned counterparts, Becerra said Monday.

Becerra gathered Thursday in Fort Lauderdale with other attorneys general, including Washington Atty. Gen. Bob Ferguson, to strategize about responding to the Trump administration on various issues.

The meeting took place at the annual winter conference of the Democratic Attorneys General Assn.

“Several of the AGs have been in communication,” Becerra said in an interview with The Times. “We made it very clear in our joint statement that we are going to do everything we can to make sure that the unlawful, unconstitutional executive orders by the Trump administration don’t see the light of day.”

Officials who signed the joint statement included legal representatives from Washington, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Virginia.

On Monday, Ferguson announced he was suing Trump over the executive order that suspended refugee entries for 120 days and barred entry to the U.S. for 90 days for those traveling from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Becerra said that he had been in contact with Ferguson and that the option to pursue legal action is under consideration for California.

“That’s one of many avenues of how we are looking to approach this,” Becerra said.

As a result of the Florida meeting, Becerra said, the top lawyers from the 15 states are collaborating on how to address various Trump directives.

“Everyone is doing a little bit of something,” he said. “Everyone’s trying to figure out how best to address this.”

Florida Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi, a Republican, did not attend the meeting, Becerra said.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

It’s been a decade since California set its first target for slashing greenhouse gas emissions, one of several policies that has made the state an international leader in the fight against global warming.

So while President Trump suggests he’s going to roll back the country’s environmental regulations, state leaders insist they won’t be knocked off track here.

“This is when you do your best work,” said John Laird, secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency. “We can’t worry about pulling back just to sink with everyone else who isn’t moving at all.”

Read More

Reps. Duncan Hunter (R-Alpine) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) are asking President Trump to approve waivers to his executive order for Iraqis who helped the American military.

Hunter and Kinzinger, who both served in Iraq and Afghanistan, said in the letter to Trump that they supported a request from Defense Secretary James N. Mattis that visa reviews for some Iraqis be fast-tracked.

“For the safety of these courageous individuals and their families, and in the interest of our national security, it’s critical that we make this exception and do so swiftly,” the congressmen said in a statement.

The executive order Trump signed Friday bars all refugee entries for 120 days, blocks Syrian refugees indefinitely and bars for 90 days the entry of citizens from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia.

Some of the earliest stories of people caught up in the ban included military interpreters from Iraq who had visas.

“We respectfully ask that you take this action to ensure these individuals are not put in any further danger. Doing so would send a strong signal to those who show such immense courage to advance U.S. security interests at a risk to their own safety, as well as the many veterans and warfighters who’ve relied on the service of these individuals for their own protection and to accomplish their objectives,” their letter states.

Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands) is getting frustrated with President Trump and his staff mentioning the 2015 San Bernardino shooting to defend an executive order banning refugees and others from seven predominantly Muslim countries.

“This executive order will do nothing to make our country safer and only sends a message of hate and bigotry to the rest of the world,” Aguilar, who represents the district where the site of the shooting is located, said in a statement. “This order would not have prevented the attack in San Bernardino and the use of San Bernardino as justification for this anti-Muslim policy is a revolting way to exploit our community.”

Fourteen Californians were killed in the December 2015 attack by Syed Rizwan Farook, an American, and his wife Tashfeen Malik, who was raised in Pakistan and lived in Saudi Arabia before marrying him.

People from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are not affected by Trump’s order, which bars all refugee entries for 120 days, blocks Syrian refugees indefinitely and bars for 90 days the entry of citizens from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia.

Rep. Darrell Issa, left, greets Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a campaign rally on May 27 in San Diego.

(John Gastaldo / San Diego Union-Tribune)

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has released a list of top targets looking ahead to the 2018 elections, and California’s Republican delegation is a big part of it.

Of the 61 Republicans Democrats are looking to unseat nationwide, seven are Californians:

• CA-10: Jeff Denham (R-Turlock)
• CA-21: David Valadao (R-Hanford)
• CA-25: Steve Knight (R-Palmdale)
• CA-39: Ed Royce (R-Fullerton)
• CA-45: Mimi Walters (R-Irvine)
• CA-48: Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa)
• CA-49: Darrell Issa (R-Vista)

All of these lawmakers represent districts carried by Hillary Clinton in the general election, with Valadao’s district voting for Clinton over Trump by double-digit margins. Many of them seemed to win despite Trump in 2016, out-polling him by at least several percentage points.

Issa and Denham won by the closest margins of the group, with Issa eking out a 51-49 win over Doug Applegate, who has already said he’ll run again in 2018. Denham overcame two-time challenger Michael Eggman by less than five percentage points.

Denham, Issa and Valadao were also among the top spenders in California on a per-vote basis in the November election, spending well above $30 per each vote they received.

In a memo, the Democratic committee noted Trump’s low approval ratings and the fact that few presidents in history have seen their party gain seats in Congress during the first midterm elections.

Assembly Minority Leader Chad Mayes (R-Yucca Valley) speaks in the Capitol on Jan. 11.

(Rich Pedroncelli / AP)

Assembly Republican Leader Chad Mayes of Yucca Valley on Monday joined a number of GOP politicians who are voicing misgivings about President Trump’s order temporarily barring refugees from some majority-Muslim countries from entering the country.

“Religious liberty is a core value of our nation. My ancestors immigrated to America to flee religious persecution,” Mayes said in a statement. “While bolstering our national security is important, when forced to decide between security and liberty, I will always side with liberty.”

“He is concerned about them [the orders],” said Matt Mahon, a spokesman for the assemblyman.

Trump’s directives suspended refugee entries for 120 days and barred entry to the U.S. for 90 days for those traveling from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

After two days of protests across the country over President Trump’s order Friday banning refugees from seven countries, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) and the ranking Democrats of three committees that oversee immigration issues are demanding a meeting with President Trump’s new Homeland Security secretary, John F. Kelly.

The move by Trump prevented green card and visa holders from reentering the country, and led to the detention of more than a hundred people landing at U.S. airports with valid entry documents. Late Saturday, a federal judge in New York issued a temporary stay against the deportation of anyone who had arrived with a valid visa.

The letter demanding the meeting, signed by Lofgren, Judiciary Committee ranking member John Conyers (D-Mich.), Homeland Security Committee ranking member Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Elliot Engel (D-N.Y.), calls for it be scheduled by the close of business Wednesday. The Democrats also ask for more information about how the order is being implemented, whether the stays placed by federal judges over the weekend are being followed and whether green card holders are affected.

“Only two days after the order was signed it is clear that it has already led to panic and disorder, not to mention protests,” the letter states. “This is apparently due in part to the lack of internal administration review prior to its issuance as well as a lack of clarity and guidance provided thereafter.”

Lofgren, a former immigration attorney and the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee’s Immigration Subcommittee, also plans to file legislation today to rescind the executive order. Getting such legislation through the House could be difficult with Speaker Paul Ryan supporting the executive order. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is proposing similar legislation in the Senate.

House and Senate Democrats plan to hold a rally against the order outside the Supreme Court Monday evening.

Only a few of the state’s 14 Republican representatives have publicly commented on an executive order signed by President Trump on Friday that barred refugees and green card holders from seven countries from entering the U.S.

Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Tulare) released a statement Sunday night saying some tweaks are needed, but his background as chairman of the House Select Intelligence Committee leads him to support the executive order.

“In light of attempts by jihadist groups to infiltrate fighters into refugee flows to the West, along with Europe’s tragic experience coping with this problem, the Trump administration’s executive order on refugees is a common-sense security measure to prevent terror attacks on the homeland. While accommodations should be made for green card holders and those who’ve assisted the U.S. armed forces, this is a useful temporary measure on seven nations of concern until we can verify who is entering the United States,” he said.

Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) told the Washington Post that “pausing the intake of refugees from terror hotspots is the right call to keep America safe,” but he hopes the cases of people traveling on visas who were prevented from reentering the country are resolved quickly.

Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Turlock) said on Twitter on Sunday that the rollout has created confusion, and that executive orders aren’t the way to fix the country’s long-term problems.

Several of California’s 38 Democratic congressional representatives and the state’s two senators were out in force over the weekend demanding the release of refugees and green card holders, and an end to the executive order.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) announced two pieces of legislation she’ll file in response. One would immediately rescind the president’s order. The second would limit executive authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act to prevent a president from unilaterally banning groups of immigrants.

“It’s clear that the president gave little consideration to the chaos and heartbreak that would result from this order,” she said in a statement.

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) joined protesters outside the White House Sunday afternoon.

In Los Angeles, Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) and Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) joined protesters at Los Angeles International Airport. On Saturday, Reps. Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park), Nanette Barragán (D-San Pedro) and Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) joined the initial protests at the airport, and worked to get some of those being held released.

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) accompanied protesters at San Francisco International Airport Sunday.

2:31 p.m. Jan. 30: This post was updated to clarify Rep. Ed Royce’s statement about the executive order. It was originally published Jan. 29.

Assyrian Christians, who fled unrest in Syria and Iraq, attend Mass at St. George’s Assyrian Church in Jdeideh, Lebanon. Trump’s directive provides an exception for “religious minorities.”

( (AFP/Getty Images))

California state Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra on Saturday condemned an executive order by President Donald Trump barring people from some Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. and said he is consulting with legal advisors over a way to challenge the directive.

Trump has suspended all refugee entries for 120 days and barred entry to the U.S. for 90 days for those traveling from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

“Justice in America doesn’t live or die on the stroke of one man’s pen regardless of how high his office,” Becerra said in a statement late Saturday, less than a week after taking office. “The Trump Administration’s anti-religion, anti-refugee executive order is in so many ways unjust and anti-American”

He said the order discriminates against people based on their faith and denies entry to those with fears of death and persecution.

“I have conferred with my team, and we are reaching out to others as well, to find every avenue possible to defend our family members and those who live permanently in our communities who may be barred from re-entry into America,” Becerra said.

“The Trump executive order should not stand and must be confronted as a constitutional overreach,” he added.

Even before the weekend controversy and protests, California’s top elected officials spent much of the last week reacting to the first moves by President Donald Trump.

On this week’s California Politics Podcast, we take a closer look at the sharp words offered by Gov. Jerry Brown in his State of the State speech when it comes to the new politics of Washington.

We also focus much of this week’s discussion around three big topics that caught the attention of a number of California lawmakers: immigration moves by Trump; the rough week that was for the nation’s environmental protection enforcers; and rekindled but unproven allegations of widespread voter fraud.

I’m joined by Marisa Lagos of KQED News and Anthony York of the Grizzly Bear Project.

Read more about the demonstrations and people being detained at LAX.

Gov. Jerry Brown, who first was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2012, will begin a new round of treatment for the disease, his office reported on Saturday.

Brown, 78, will maintain his duties as governor during the treatment, according to his staff. No additional details were provided about how long the treatment will take, or what prompted its timing.

“Fortunately this is not extensive disease, can be readily treated with a short course of radiotherapy, and there are not expected to be any significant side effects,” said Dr. Eric Small, a UC San Francisco oncologist, in an emailed statement provided to reporters. “The prognosis for Gov. Brown is excellent.”

Brown initially learned he had prostate cancer in late 2012 and underwent similar treatment for several weeks. The governor has also been treated for basal cell carcinoma — a type of skin cancer — twice in the past nine years, with reconstructive surgery on the right side of his nose in 2011.

With almost two years remaining on his final term in office, Brown is already the oldest governor in California history. He often made a point of pointing out his physical fitness in his return to the job in 2011, including a 2012 challenge to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie of “a 3-mile race, a push-up contest and a chin-up contest.”

Though he’s been treated in San Francisco, the governor and First Lady Anne Gust Brown now live full-time in the historic governor’s mansion in Sacramento after moving out of Oakland last year.

They were joined by multiple other California Democrats, who almost immediately reacted to President Trump’s order to temporarily ban most refugees from entering the U.S.

Ricardo De La Fuente, the son of a long-shot presidential candidate who ran as both a Democrat and an independent in 2016, says he will now run for Congress in Los Angeles’ 34th Congressional District.

De La Fuente, 27, was born and raised in San Diego and says he helps run his family’s real estate and business empire, which was started by his grandfather. He says he is also involved with solar energy start-up companies.

De La Fuente most recently served as campaign director for the failed presidential and U.S. Senate bids of his father, Roque “Rocky” De La Fuente, and says he will step away from the family business to run full time for Congress. He recently moved to downtown Los Angeles.

“I want to serve my community, and I think it’s about time my generation jumps in the political realm and gets involved,” the younger De La Fuente said. His father appeared on Democratic presidential primary ballots in at least two dozen states last year and ran as a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Florida, earning 5.4% of the primary vote.

The elder De La Fuente then ran as an independent in the general presidential election, filing for recounts in Wisconsin and Nevada, where he received 1,500 and 2,500 votes, respectively.

Ricardo De La Fuente is one of at least 19 candidates vying for this seat. Candidates have until Feb. 9 to turn in papers with the L.A. County registrar to qualify for the April 4 special primary ballot. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, a runoff will be held June 6.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s Bakersfield-based district has been a flashpoint in the debate over how to overhaul healthcare in recent weeks.

A proposed California law seeks to ensure that a person who uses false documents to conceal their citizenship status faces the same punishment as a person who uses a fake driver’s license.

The legislation by Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra (D-Pacoima) would amend the penal code to make both crimes “wobblers,”

meaning prosecutors would have the discretion to charge suspects in such cases with either felony offenses or lower-level misdemeanors.

Under the proposal, the repercussions for defendants would be the same: If convicted of a misdemeanor, offenders would have to serve up to one year in county jail, while a felony conviction would mean up to 16 months in county jail, or two or three years in prison.

A spokesman for Bocangera said the measure was introduced as a proactive response to President Trump’s hard-line stance on immigration and would reverse part of Proposition 187, a controversial ballot measure to deny public services, such as education and healthcare, to immigrants in the country illegally.

The proposition, approved by voters in 1994, requires any person who uses false immigration records to face felony charges. Bocangera’s bill amending those provisions would need a two-thirds vote in the Assembly and the state Senate to pass.

“Today, if an underage college student uses a fake ID to purchase a six-pack of beer, he or she can be charged with a misdemeanor,” Bocanegra said in a statement. “However, if an immigrant is caught using that same fake ID, he or she is automatically charged with a felony and is subject to five years in prison. This is fundamentally unfair.”

Gov. Jerry Brown pointedly criticized world leaders for “goofing off” instead of addressing looming problems with climate change and nuclear weapons during a radio interview on Friday.

“They’re really averting their gaze,” he said. “And that is dangerous, very dangerous.”

Brown has become increasingly outspoken about issues he describes as existential threats to humanity, and the election of Donald Trump has only made him more concerned. During the interview, he spoke in sweeping terms about the need to support scientific research in the face of political denial.

“Darkness cannot totally extinguish the light,” Brown said while criticizing Republicans for refusing to accept the scientific consensus around climate change and the need for dramatic changes to confront global warming.

At another point, Brown mused that humans have accumulated vast power without a corresponding increase in wisdom. That creates “a gap between the power to destroy and the wisdom to control those destructive forces.”

Brown reiterated his plan to push forward California’s policies on climate change even if Trump follows through on the federal government’s plans.

“We’re going to do everything we can to stay on track,” he said.

As California undergoes the largest overhaul of prison parole in a generation, some lawmakers and law enforcement officials say it’s time to revisit how the state legally defines a “violent crime.”

Gov. Jerry Brown’s Proposition 57, which voters overwhelmingly approved in November, continues a statewide effort to increase rehabilitation services and decrease the prison population. Among its provisions, the initiative gives the state parole board greater latitude to consider the early release of prisoners who have served their primary sentences, and whose crimes are not designated as “violent” under the California penal code.

But since the early days of the ballot measure campaign, debate has brewed over just who the law will benefit, with prosecutors saying that short and porous list excludes certain rape crimes and other dangerous offenses. This legislative session, the discussion moves to the Capitol.

Read More

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

With President Trump in the White House, information about climate change has been disappearing from government websites.

Some fear the same thing could happen with the Environmental Protection Agency. Now the advocacy organization run by environmentalist and political donor Tom Steyer is taking steps to preserve the information.

NextGen Climate copied the website and made it available at SaveOurEPA.com.

“As Americans, we will not allow Donald Trump to erase the truth or rewrite history,” Steyer said in a statement. “This information belongs to the people, and the public has a right to know the truth.”

Trump has taken other steps that have alarmed environmentalists. For example, he greenlighted two oil pipelines that had been stopped by former President Obama.

(Jose Luis Magana / Associated Press)

Kamala Harris hadn’t even arrived in Washington to take up her job as California’s spanking-new U.S. senator when the chatter began: Kamala for president!

Never mind her disavowals — “Seriously?” — or the fact that the first balloting of the 2020 race is, at a minimum, 1,000-plus days away. The soul-sapping election of Donald Trump has Democrats desperately looking far, far down the road.

“Usually the candidates start sending signals,” said Jim Demers, a longtime party strategist in New Hampshire, the state that traditionally holds the first presidential primary. “This time I’m hearing activists begging for the race to begin.”

With a wide-open contest (read: not a Clinton or Obama in sight), the list of would-be contenders, real and imagined, is lengthy, even by the prodigious standards of this early stage.

What’s different in 2020 is that California — huge in population, mighty in economic power, desperate to matter in presidential politics — figures to be at the center of speculation in a way it hasn’t for a generation.

Read More

Immigrant workers marching in Los Angeles in 2014.

(Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

Cities in California are gearing up for a legal fight against President Trump’s plans to take away federal dollars from so-called sanctuary cities.

These cities typically are defined as those that don’t cooperate with federal immigration officials for deportation purposes, and the new president wants to strip them of funding unless they start doing so.

But the language in Trump’s executive order on the issue is vague, and San Francisco officials believe their city is already exempt from the mandate.

Read More

A pair of fences separates Mexico, left, and the U.S. south of San Diego.

(Bill Wechter / AFP)

California political leaders are seeking all sorts of strategies to fight President Trump’s plans to build a wall along the border with Mexico.

One strategy that’s likely to fail is a lawsuit based on state and federal environmental laws, legal experts said.

Congress already has given the federal government broad authority to waive environmental laws to build a border fence and the courts have upheld that power.

Read More

Supporters of the campaign for California to secede from the United States can now begin collecting the hundreds of thousands of signatures they need to get a proposed “Calexit” initiative on the ballot.

California Secretary of State Alex Padilla cleared the proposed initiative to begin collecting signatures on Thursday.

If the measure gets on the ballot and gains approval by a majority of voters, it would repeal clauses in the California Constitution stating that the state is an “inseparable part of the United States” and that the U.S. Constitution is the “supreme law of the land,” according to the title and summary prepared by the state attorney general’s office.

The measure would place another question on the ballot in 2019, asking whether California should become a separate country. If at least half of registered voters participate in that vote, with at least 55% of those voting to approve, the results would be treated as California’s declaration of independence.

The current measure’s fiscal effect is “dependent on various factors,” writes the state’s nonpartisan legislative analyst, and if it succeeds would result in “major, but unknown budgetary impacts.”

The proposal’s backers, known as Yes California, have argued that the state is culturally out of step with the rest of the U.S. and that California pays more money to the federal government than it receives in spending. The election of President Trump has only strengthened their argument, they say.

“California loses [by] being a part of America culturally and financially,” said Marcus Ruiz Evans, one of the group’s founders. “It could be a nation all its own, everybody knows that. The only question is if they want to break off.”

It’s unclear how the group will collect the required 585,407 valid signatures from registered voters over the next 180 days to qualify for the ballot.

A campaign committee, Yes California Independence Committee, has raised no funds so far, according to records from the secretary of state. But Evans says that his group has more than 7,000 volunteers (significantly down from a 13,000 estimate in December) ready to gather signatures and that voters can expect to see signature gatherers on the streets in the next couple of days.

Yes California says that even if the proposed initiative does land on the ballot and voters approve it, such an unprecedented move to secede would need to receive approval of at least a majority of the states in the union, among other legal hurdles.

Evans says he’s not fazed.

“America already hates California, and America votes on emotions,” he said. “I think we’d have the votes today if we held it.”

UPDATE

7:01 p.m.: This post has been updated to clarify that the proposed initiative would place a future vote on California’s secession on the ballot in 2019.

Rep. Ted Lieu is now placing an asterisk next to President Trump’s name in news releases.

It’s the Torrance Democrat’s way of drawing attention to his concerns about the new administration, he said.

“Sometimes the best way to respond to crazy is with satire,” Lieu said. “Never before have I had this feeling where our leader is potentially unhinged and has a problem with the truth, and that is highly disturbing for the leader of the free world. So I’ve decided I’m just going to point that out as much as I can.”

The asterisk leads readers to the bottom of the email, where a postscript says:

“ ***In addition to losing the popular vote, Trump — as of January 20, 2017 — is in violation of the Emoluments Clause set forth in Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution due to massive conflicts of interests and his refusal to put his global business holdings in blind trusts. Trump also benefitted from Vladimir Putin ordering a multifaceted and brazen Russian influence and cyber hacking campaign with the goals of undermining faith in the U.S. democratic process, denigrating Secretary Clinton’s electability, and helping Trump’s election chances. Trump and his press secretary also routinely make stuff up.”

The sophomore congressman said he initially planned to give Trump the benefit of the doubt, hoping his rhetoric was a campaign tactic and that he would pivot to uniting the country following the election. Then Lieu listened to the president’s inaugural speech.

“I was hoping he would govern different than how he campaigned,” he said. “I came to the conclusion that it would be worse for America to normalize him.”

Lieu followed the addition to his news releases with a “Cloud of Illegitimacy Clock” that counts the time since Trump’s swearing-in, which is how long Lieu says Trump has been in violation of the Constitution by not divesting from his businesses or putting them in a blind trust. The Constitution bans government officials from receiving gifts or payments from foreign governments.

Next he posted a series of tweets mocking White House spokesman Sean Spicer for giving incorrect figures on how many people attended the inauguration, and top Trump aide Kellyanne Conway for using the term “alternative facts.”

“I’ve decided that the administration using ‘alternative facts’ is more profane than anything that I could say,” he said. “When the administration lies, they just need to be called out on that. If they are going to lie about stupid little things, like crowd size, imagine what they’re going to say when they roll out their healthcare plan, whenever that might be.”

Lieu has needled Trump in responses to several executive orders this week, including by saying he would bet a “nice bottle of California wine that the Administration will be unable to find a credible witness to testify under oath to the allegation that 3-5 million people illegally cast votes in 2016,” and by mentioning the inauguration crowd while talking about Trump’s proposed border wall.

Lieu said he’s “absolutely” hoping Trump will respond.

“I think satire is an effective way to highlight issues, and I want the American people to see who this president really is, because in 22 months they get to vote again on every member of Congress, and that will be a referendum on Donald Trump,” Lieu said.

California driver’s licenses and birth certificates could have a third option for gender in addition to male or female under legislation unveiled Thursday by Democratic lawmakers.

The bill by state Sens. Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) and Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) would establish a new nonbinary gender marker for official state documents.

Lawmakers framed the measure as an expansion of rights for transgender, intersex and other people who do not identify as male or female.

“It will keep California at the forefront of LGBTQ civil rights,” Atkins said at a Capitol news conference.

The bill, SB 179, also would streamline the process for people to change their gender on such documents. It would remove the requirement that an individual obtain a sworn statement from a physician certifying medical treatment for gender transition. It also would create a process for people younger than 18 to apply for a change of gender on their birth certificate.

Jo Michael, of Equality California, a gay rights advocacy group, said the bill had personal resonance. Michael identifies as transgender and nonbinary.

“For the first time, Californians like me could have accurate gender markers that truly reflect who we are,” Michael said.

Wiener said the proposal places California in stark relief to other states in the country, including North Carolina, where a high-profile law regulating transgender people’s use of public bathrooms roiled the state.

“As the LGBT community — but especially the trans community — is under assault in this country, California needs to go in the opposite direction and embrace the trans community and support the trans community and modernize these laws,” he said.

The legislation does not specify what the alternate gender marker would be, but other countries that have implemented such a policy, such as Australia and New Zealand, have used the letter “X” alongside “M” for male and “F” for female, according to Sasha Buchert of the Transgender Law Center.

Atkins, who is a lesbian and a member of the California Legislative LGBT Caucus, said this proposal marks an “evolution” for her in better understanding the concerns of the transgender and intersex community. She authored a law in 2014 that ensures death certificates reflect a person’s gender identity, an experience she said made her more aware of the bureaucratic hurdles that transgender people often face.

This year’s bill, she said, “is moving us forward into a new world, where acceptance is ... letting people be who they tell you they are.”

(Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press)

California lawmakers will have a chance to meet the Legislature’s new outside counsel on Feb. 7, when former U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. travels to the state to address Senate and Assembly Democrats.

Holder, leading a team of attorneys from the firm Covington & Burling, has been hired by Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) to serve as outside counsel as the state prepares a legal strategy to deal with the administration of President Trump.

But Senate and Assembly staff officials said his invitation to meet with lawmakers was extended prior to the contract, which begins in February, and that Holder is making the trip on his own personal time. His travel and accommodations expenses will not be paid with state funds, and his appearances will not be part of his billable hours, they said.

Holder will address Senate Democrats at their annual policy retreat, and will speak to the Assembly Democratic caucus. His visit comes soon after state Democratic leaders this week denounced Trump’s executive orders on immigration and pledged to take his administration to court should other legislative means of resistance fail.

While the race to succeed Gov. Jerry Brown already has attracted a small cadre of well-known Democrats, the behind-the-scenes strategizing, cajoling and guessing games surrounding a handful of other potential contenders could create havoc in what’s expected to be California’s biggest political showdown since 2010.

Among those watching closely are the candidates already definitely in the running, including Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and state Treasurer John Chiang.

Delaine Eastin, who spent eight years as California’s top education official, announced she was running in November and officially launched her campaign — and fundraising operation — on Thursday.

Read More

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

California Senate leader Kevin de León took another shot at President Trump and his executive orders on immigration Wednesday night, calling his threat to withhold federal dollars from so-called sanctuary cities “political blackmail” and “political vengeance.”

In an interview on the MSNBC show “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell,” De León said California was working with former U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. to study all of its legal options to oppose the directives. Under the 10th Amendment, the state Senate leader said, the federal government cannot commandeer and force local municipalities and police agencies from carrying out their work.

The appearance came hours after Trump signed orders to temporarily halt the U.S. refugee program, cut funding for cities that offer immigrants protections and order federal officials to construct a U.S.-Mexico border wall.

“California will not become a cog in the Trump deportation machine,” De León said. “This is not a monarchy, and I know he fancies himself as a king, but this is a republic.”

Read More

Secretary of State Alex Padilla.

(Damian Dovarganes/Associated Press)

With President Donald Trump rehashing last year’s accusation of widespread voter fraud in California and elsewhere, the state’s top elections official is also restating his take: It’s not true.

“When the president says millions of illegal ballots are cast, that’s simply not the case,” said Secretary of State Alex Padilla in an interview on CNN Wednesday. “It’s a lie.”

As was the case when Trump made the accusation in November, there’s no evidence of such a broad attempt to sway the outcome in California. The president lost the Golden State to Democrat Hillary Clinton by almost 4.3 million votes.

Trump’s announcement on Wednesday of a “major investigation” into voter fraud reignited the issue, even though there was also Republican skepticism in the wake of the new round of accusations.

“Is it a question of millions of people? That’s a pretty steep hill to climb,” said Assemblyman Matthew Harper (R-Huntington Beach), the vice chairman of the Assembly’s elections committee. “You’d have to have a very strong coordinated effort across California to pull that off.”

Harper said he believes the better discussion is whether new, independent audit capabilities need to be in place to examine election results.

Others, though, were sharply critical of the president’s motives.

“Allegations of widespread voter fraud are not just ‘alternative facts,’ they are a calculated and sinister attempt at voter suppression that takes a page from this nation’s bleak history of segregation,” said Laphonza Butler, president of the state council of the Service Employees International Union.

In the CNN interview, Padilla said he worried the president was sowing doubt in an effort to legitimize efforts such as a purging of voter rolls.

“I hope that it’s not a sign of things to come,” he said.

The race is officially on in the 34th Congressional District, after Gov. Jerry Brown officially set the date for a special election to replace former Rep. Xavier Becerra, who resigned Monday to become California’s attorney general.

The primary election will take place on April 4, according to a proclamation Brown issued Wednesday afternoon.

If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, a general election will be held June 6.

The election dates are separate from two already scheduled municipal elections on March 7 and May 16 in Los Angeles, which encompasses nearly the entire district.

This could heighten concerns about low voter turnout for an off-year election. At least 18 candidates have already stated their intention to run to replace Becerra, who had been in office for 24 years.

California’s congressional delegation responded largely with dismay Wednesday to President Trump’s executive orders to begin building a wall along the country’s southern border, cut off funding for cities that don’t comply with federal immigration enforcement officials and expand lockup facilities for those caught entering the country illegally.

Rep. Linda Sanchez of Whittier, vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus, called Trump’s plans for a wall “absurd” and “reckless,” and said Americans will end up footing the bill, not Mexico as Trump insists.

“This is a waste of everyone’s time and money, and does not address the fundamental need for comprehensive reform to fix our broken immigration system. If history has taught us anything it is that walls are expensive, unnecessary and people ultimately find ways around them,” she said in a statement.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose), a former immigration attorney, dismissed the idea that a wall will keep people out, making reference to the Great Wall of China.

Rep. Scott Peters (D-San Diego), whose district is near the southern border, said Trump doesn’t understand that tens of thousands of jobs in San Diego, and millions around the country, depend on border trade with Mexico.

“In San Diego, we see the border as an opportunity, not a threat, and we know that a wall isn’t the answer. This money would be better spent on modernizing infrastructure and hiring staff at our border crossings to make the screening of cargo and travelers more efficient and secure,” he said in a statement.

House and Senate Republicans are in Philadelphia for an annual retreat. Only one of California’s 14 Republican House members went on record as favoring the president’s orders in the hours after they were announced.

The House Select Intelligence Committee is examining allegations that the Russian government tried to influence the 2016 election, Republican Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes and ranking Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff said in a statement Wednesday.

The two Californians said the committee is looking at Russian cyber activity and “other active measures” directed against the U.S. It also will examine links between Russia and people working for political campaigns as well as the federal response to Russia, including leaks of classified assessments from the intelligence community.

The statement does not specifically mention President Trump, the assessment of the U.S. intelligence community that Russia attempted to intervene in the presidential election to ensure he would win or news that Trump’s national security advisor was in frequent contact with the Russian ambassador as President Obama was considering sanctions against Russia.

“This issue is not about party, but about country. The Committee will continue to follow the facts wherever they may lead,” the statement said.

The Senate Intelligence Committee, on which Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) serves, also is investigating Russian interference in the election, and the U.S. response.

Two Republican senators have joined a number of House and Senate Democrats, including House Select Intelligence Committee member Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) in pushing for a nonpartisan independent commission to examine the issue.

Nunes, who served on Trump’s transition committee, has previously said he doesn’t think an independent commission is necessary.

The statement also asked the new, Trump-appointed heads of intelligence agencies to bring documents requested by the committee directly to committee members.

“It will not be adequate to review these documents, expected to be in the thousands of pages, at the agencies. They should be delivered to the House Intelligence Committee to provide members adequate time to examine their content,” it states.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

California voters would no longer have to scrounge around in search of a stamp to mail in their ballot under new legislation introduced this week at the state Capitol.

“We want to make sure voters don’t have any barriers,” said Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego), the bill’s author.

Ballot envelopes sent by elections officials would be marked as “prepaid postage” and the postage costs would be paid for by individual counties. A key question will be the cost for mailing in as many as 10 million ballots statewide. Not all ballots will weigh the same, given the numerous city and county measures that also are considered in regularly scheduled elections.

The initial language of Assembly Bill 216 doesn’t offer specifics on reimbursing counties, though Gonzalez Fletcher said she expects the proposal’s ultimate cost could be under $2 million, if the law also makes clear that voters can still place a stamp on their ballot.

Regardless, postage fees are likely to be deemed a mandated cost that state government must cover.

Gonzalez Fletcher said the advent of email and online bill-paying services have meant that fewer voters have stamps readily available, with busy working Californians scrambling just to find the time to exercise their right to vote.

“It starts to feel like a very small poll tax,” she said.

The proposal is another example of the steady evolution of elections conducted less by the ballot box than the mailbox in California, as more than half of all registered voters now permanently receive absentee ballots. A number of the state’s most populous counties are expected to soon embrace a sweeping new law shifting elections away from neighborhood polling places and toward a substantial number of votes being cast by mail.

“This is welcome legislation,” said Kim Alexander, president of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation. “Requiring voters to pay for ballot postage sends a message that the government is putting up obstacles to make it more difficult to vote.”

In many cases, ballots placed in the mail without proper postage are already being delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. Some counties in California have offered prepaid postage in the past, but the vast majority have not.

California led other states in adopting a flurry of new laws restricting tobacco products last year, resulting in a big improvement in the state’s grades from the American Lung Assn.

In a report released Wednesday, the health group boosted the state’s grade for the level of tobacco taxes from an F last year to a B, in recognition that California voters in November approved a $2-per-pack increase in the cigarette tax.

The Legislature last year also adopted a half-dozen new laws, including an increase in the minimum age for smoking from 18 to 21 and an expansion of a smoking ban in public places, including restaurants and theaters, to also include use of electronic cigarettes.

The state’s grade for “smoke-free air policies” rose from a B to an A, while California received a B for restricting tobacco to young people.

The group gave the state an “incomplete” for funding of tobacco prevention programs because officials have not yet started collecting money from the tobacco tax increase in Proposition 56.

“In 2016, Californians fought back against Big Tobacco’s grip on our state,” said David Pogue, chairman of the American Lung Assn. in California’s governing board. “Tobacco-related illnesses remain the single most preventable cause of disease and death in California, and we’re proud to reaffirm ourselves as a national leader in the effort to reduce smoking rates and exposure to secondhand smoke and to protect our children from a lifetime of addiction.”

The group cited the lack of significant new tobacco laws passed in Los Angeles for its decision to leave the city’s C grade unchanged. El Monte and West Hollywood passed some new tobacco policies and raised their grades. Santa Ana earned a C, but was at top of the list in Orange County, where almost all the other cities received Fs, officials said.

Freshman Rep. Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) asked President Trump in a letter Wednesday to reinstate the Spanish-language version of the White House website.

An aide to the president said Tuesday that a Spanish-language version of the page would be available at some point.

Correa’s spokesman, Andrew Scibetta, said the congressman wants to make sure it’s moving forward.

“In development is not the same as online. We want to make sure this actually happens, and doesn’t get stuck in indefinite development,” he said.

Correa represents California’s 46th Congressional District, in which more than half of residents speak Spanish at home, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2015 American Community Survey.

The Trump administration took over the site on Friday, the day he was inaugurated. Among other changes, it no longer includes an option for translation into Spanish or an option that gave information about access for disabled users.

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) pushed President Trump’s budget chief pick Tuesday on whether he’d advise the new Republican leader to offer timely disaster relief, especially to states like California that face earthquakes, fires, floods and other natural disasters.

“Can you assure me that when natural disasters hit various parts of the country like California, that you will be willing to put the immediate interests of people in need as the first priority for you, or will you insist that the budget cuts be made before agreeing to provide critical assistance to those victims?” Harris asked Rep. Mick Mulvaney during a confirmation hearing Tuesday.

The South Carolina Republican asked for spending cuts to offset billions in relief funding after Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast.

“There is a proper federal role in dealing with natural disaster relief,” Mulvaney said in response to Harris’ questioning. “Sandy is a tremendous example of something so large, it’s simply too large for one state or local government to deal with, it is an appropriate function of the federal government.”

Harris pushed a second time, “So can you assure me that if a natural disaster hits other states, like California for example, that you will not hold up relief for the state, waiting to determine whether there are going to be budget cuts or cuts in order to provide that relief? Or are you going to sit back and crunch the numbers while people are waiting for help?”

Mulvaney replied, “No, I see my role in that particular circumstance as advising the president. Mr. President, here’s what we’ve done it in the past, here’s how it worked out, here’s how I think we should proceed in this circumstance and here’s why. And then whatever the president says to do, I will enforce.”

Harris is still weighing how to vote on Mulvaney’s confirmation, her staff said.

Donald Trump at the California Republican Party convention in Burlingame in April.

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

One of the most talked about politicians in California’s 2018 governor’s campaign isn’t even running.

Rarely does a day go by when Republican President Donald Trump isn’t used as a political piñata by one of the top Democrats in the race.

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom took some jabs Tuesday when he addressed the California Legislature before Gov. Jerry Brown’s annual State of the State speech. Newsom mocked the Trump administration for its reliance on “alternative facts” — a phrase used by a Trump senior advisor when defending inflated inauguration crowd figures — and took a subtle shot at the president’s comment about “American carnage” in the nation’s cities.

On Monday, state Treasurer John Chiang criticized Trump for doubting the scientific evidence of climate change.

“President Trump may believe global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing noncompetitive,’’ Chiang said. “We Californians stand with the scientific community and the 195 nations that have declared climate change is an urgent and potentially irreversible threat to human societies and the planet.”

When Antonio Villaraigosa announced his bid for governor right after the general election, the former Los Angeles mayor was sure to include a dig at Trump.

“I’m running because I think the answer to the divisiveness we see in the country right now is unity, and the answer to fear is hope,” he said.

Last May, Villaraigosa compared Trump to segregationist George Wallace.

California’s former superintendent of public instruction, Delaine Eastin, last week ripped Trump for nominating Betsy DeVos for Education secretary. Eastin said DeVos, a charter school advocate and Republican fundraiser from Michigan, was a threat to public education in the country.

In speeches, in fundraising emails, in tweets and Facebook posts, the Democrats have liberally excoriated Trump while largely avoiding lobbing any criticism at one another. It’s a safe and easy tactic that appeals to a sizeable majority of voters in left-leaning California.

In the November election, Trump was trounced by Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in California — losing to her by more than 4.2 million votes.

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, a Republican being urged to run by fellow party members, has also rebuked Trump in the past.

In May, Faulconer said he rejected Trump’s “divisive rhetoric” about women and immigrants. Faulconer was absent at Trump’s inauguration and skipped a Trump campaign rally in San Diego last spring.

For any Republican to have a legitimate shot in the governor’s race, or any statewide election, the more distance they put between themselves and Trump the better, said GOP political consultant Rob Stutzman.

“It’s important that you’re not on the record gushing about Trump,” Stutzman said.

3:30 p.m.: This story was updated to correct the title of Delaine Eastin. She is a former state superintendent of public instruction.

California’s House delegation split along party lines Tuesday on a bill to permanently prohibit the use of certain federal funds for abortions.

President Trump promised the anti-abortion community during the campaign that he would make the funding ban — commonly called the Hyde Amendment — permanent.

It passed the House 238-183 and goes next to the Senate. The 52 members who represent California in the House split along party lines, with 36 Democrats against for it, and 14 Republicans voting for it. Reps. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) and Jim Costa (D-Lieu) did not vote. Their staffs each said the member would have joined Democrats in voting against the measure.

If passed by the Senate, it would permanently prohibit federal funding from being used to cover abortion costs except in cases of rape, incest or if the mother’s life is in danger. It effects government employee’s health plans, Medicaid and health insurance plans offered under the Affordable Care Act.

The amendment has been added to the annual appropriations bill for the past 40 years and the bill approved by the House Tuesday would make it permanent.

During debate on the House floor Rep. Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park) called the bill a “women’s health catastrophe” that will keep poor women on Medicaid or the Affordable Care Act from having access to insurance.

“In effect it makes abortion only an option for the wealthy,” she said.

Previous versions of the bill twice passed the House but were not considered by the Senate while President Obama was in office.

11:09 a.m. Jan. 25: An earlier version of this article reported that Democrats voted for the bill and Republicans voted against the bill. It was the opposite.

California lawmakers will weigh whether family courts should allow children as young as 10 to testify before judges regarding parent custody or visitation rights.

A bill filed by state Sen. Connie Leyva (D-Chino) would lower the current threshold from age 14 to enable more children to express their wishes in court, some of whom she said could find themselves in life-threatening situations.

The legislation was co-sponsored by the California Protective Parents Assn. and the Center for Judicial Excellence. Neither current law nor the bill would require children to testify in family cases unless they choose to.

In a statement, Levya called the proposal an important child safety measure.

“As a family court makes critical life decisions for children, it makes sense for them to be granted a greater voice in court proceedings since they can contribute essential information before final decisions are made,” she said.

Students from several high schools rally at City Hall in downtown Los Angeles on Nov. 14 after walking out of class to protest the election of Donald Trump.

(Reed Saxon / Associated Press)

Californians’ support for a breakaway California republic has increased, one poll has found.

One-third of state residents support peacefully seceding from the United States, up from 20% since Californians were last asked the same question in 2014, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll. The poll’s margin of error for the California answers was plus or minus 5 percentage points.

Still, half of Californians opposed the idea of succession, though Democrats were more inclined to support it than Republicans. The survey found that 60% of Republicans gave the idea of peacefully seceding a thumbs down compared with 48% of Democrats and 50% of independents.

Nationally, 22% of those polled supported having their state break away from the U.S., according to the survey.

A “Calexit” campaign already is underway to make California an independent nation. The effort faces extremely long odds.

The poll surveyed 14,000 adults nationwide, and 500 in California, from Dec. 6 to Jan. 19.

Gov. Jerry Brown used his State of the State speech on Tuesday to promise a forceful defense of California’s efforts on climate change, healthcare and assistance to those in the country illegally against new proposals by President Donald Trump and national Republican leadership.

“California is not turning back,” Brown said to applause. “Not now, not ever.”

The governor’s remarks, delivered in front of lawmakers and state elected officials in the Assembly chambers, came just four days after President Trump’s forceful inaugural address that signaled a dramatic new course for the federal government.

While he never mentioned the president by name during the 16-minute speech, Brown said there are “disturbing” signs as to what’s on the horizon.

“We have seen the bald assertion of ‘alternative facts,’ whatever those are,” he said, a reference to top Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway’s weekend comments on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “We have heard the blatant attacks on science. Familiar signposts of our democracy — truth, civility, working together — have been obscured or swept aside.”

The annual event in the chamber of the state Assembly was unusual from the outset. Just minutes before beginning his speech, Brown gave the oath of office to Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra, the former Los Angeles congressman confirmed to the post on Monday afternoon by the state Senate.

Legislators have had a decidedly unusual start to their new two-year session. After a raucous opening day in December that laid bare wounds from the presidential race, lawmakers were presented two weeks ago with Brown’s projection of a $1.6-billion budget deficit looming on the state’s fiscal horizon.

But the sea change in national politics has been a persistent buzz in the state Capitol, and Brown promised a strong defense of California’s unique view on major policy issues.

The governor made a special mention of the issue of illegal immigration, offering perhaps his strongest words to date.

“Let me be clear,” the governor said, his voice rising. “We will defend everybody — every man, woman and child who has come here for a better life and has contributed to the well-being of our state.”

Even with those critiques, the governor veered from his prepared remarks to praise Trump’s call for a new focus on infrastructure projects.

“I say, ‘Amen to that, man!’ ” he said.

And Brown urged members of the Legislature to reject the bitter partisan divisions of this moment in the nation’s history.

“Democrats are in the majority, but Republicans represent real Californians, too,” he said to bipartisan applause. “We have generally been civil to one another and avoided the rancor of Washington. I urge you to go even further and look for new ways to work beyond party and act as Californians first.”

Xavier Becerra

((Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) )

Minutes after resigning his seat in Congress on Tuesday, Xavier Becerra took the oath of office as California’s new attorney general, and he immediately made plans for a sit-down with sheriffs from throughout the state to talk about law enforcement issues.

Becerra, 58, was given the oath of office at the Capitol by Gov. Jerry Brown, who predicted earlier that “Xavier will be a champion for all Californians.” The ceremony was held before Brown was scheduled to deliver his annual State of the State address, and a day after Becerra received final confirmation by the state Senate.

“I will do my utmost to uphold your faith in me to serve as our great state’s next chief law enforcement officer and legal advocate,” Becerra said in a letter to Brown on Tuesday, letting him know he had resigned from Congress.

“And while I leave Congress with mixed emotions, I am ready to begin my work as Attorney General. California’s hard-working families are counting on us, and we won’t let them down,” Becerra said.

Becerra was accompanied at the ceremony by his wife, physician Carolina Reyes, two of his three daughters, and his parents, both immigrants from Mexico.

Brown appointed Becerra to fill a vacancy after former Atty. Gen.l Kamala Harris won election to a seat in the U.S. Senate.

Becerra has pledged to challenge any attempts by the new administration of President Trump to roll back state policies on immigration, civil rights and the environment.

Brown noted his appointee’s background during his speech.

“Like so many others, he is the son of immigrants who saw California as a place where, through grit and determination, they could realize their dreams,” Brown said. “And they are not alone, millions of Californians have come here from Mexico and a hundred other countries, making our state what it is today: vibrant, even turbulent, and a beacon of hope to the rest of the world.”

The first Latino to become state attorney general in California spent the last two weeks meeting with dozens of legislators as he went through confirmation hearings in both houses.

“Governor Brown and state legislators have already shared valuable ideas on our path forward,” Becerra said in a statement after his confirmation. “And next week I hope to sit down with sheriffs from across our state to begin our work together keeping our families safe and enforcing our laws fairly.”

The first focus on local law enforcement was welcomed by Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood, president of the California State Sheriffs’ Assn.

“He wants to start with law enforcement in the San Joaquin Valley, and I think that’s a really positive step,” Youngblood said. “I’m impressed with his credentials. I’m impressed with his background, and I think he’s going to be a good attorney general.”

Gov. Jerry Brown will deliver his State of the State address at 10 a.m. PST. Watch live here: