‘Is now the right time … to fight Donald Trump?’: Speaker of the CA House of Representatives dodges tough questions from reporters
The journalist clashed with the Democratic president California assembly on whether lawmakers should focus on legal funding to “Trump-proof” the Golden State while wildfires still rage in the Los Angeles region.
“Now is the right time to hold a special legislative session on the distribution of money for fight Trump the way you already could without a special legislative session?” California correspondent Ashley Zavala asked Speaker Roberto Rivas on Thursday.
“I’m here to address… these forest fires,” Rivas answered. “This is a historic, historic wildfire. This is, this is a historic event. These wildfires, as I mentioned, will very likely be some of the worst wildfires and disasters in state and national history.”
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A reporter questions California Assembly Democratic Speaker Robert Rivas (Credit to KCRA 3) (KCRA 3)
Zavala shot back, saying “while this a forest fire is happeningand while people are trying to understand what’s going on and they’re worried about disaster relief, worried about being able to get homeowners insurance, your house has given a special legislative session to prepare for Donald Trump in a way that you’re already able to do without a special legislative session. Then again, is now the right time for that?”
Again, Rivas focused his response on fire recovery, but did not directly respond to Zavala’s inquiry.
“So our focus right now, as president, Ashley, right now, my colleagues and I, we’re acting with great urgency, great urgency, to make sure that we’re giving Angelenos the much-needed relief, to make sure that we understand what it’s going to take for this region to recover and to support those most affected by this disaster,” said Rivas. “And you know that … the response of our first responders has been unprecedented, and they’re doing everything they can to control and contain, again, these multiple fires and they’re doing everything they can to keep people safe, and again in anticipation and preparation recovery, and we as a state, as a legislative body, will do everything we can to support that recovery.”
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Shortly after the election victory of President-elect Donald Trump, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a special legislative session to bolster the state’s legal fund in case of an attack by the Trump administration. Trump hit back at Newsom after the announcement, saying, “He’s using the term ‘Trump-Proof’ as a way to stop all the GREAT things that can be done to ‘Make California Great Again,’ but I just won the election by a landslide,” Trump wrote on his profile on Truth Social.
Between 2017 and 2021. California Department of Justice led 122 lawsuits against Trump administration policies, spending $42 million on litigation. Newsom’s office said that in one case, the federal government was ordered to reimburse California for nearly $60 million in public safety grants.
While California has filed over 100 lawsuits against the Trump administration, President-elect Donald Trump has filed only four major lawsuits against the state. In 2018, Trump’s Justice Department filed a lawsuit over California’s three sanctuary state laws that restricted cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. That same year, Trump sued California over statewide net neutrality laws.
Wind whips up embers as a firefighter battles a blaze in the Angeles National Forest near Mt. Wilson as wildfires rage in the Los Angeles area during the Eaton Fire in Altadena, Calif., on January 9, 2025. (REUTERS/Ringo Chiu)
In 2019, Trump also filed a lawsuit against California’s vehicle emissions standards, trying to revoke California’s ability to set its own emissions rules. Trump administration also sued California for its controversial independent contractor bill, AB 5 of 2020.
California, a sanctuary state for illegal immigrants, abortion procedures and transgender transition treatments for children, could be targeted by the Trump administration, especially given Trump’s plan to deport illegal immigrants en masse.
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Newsom previously said the Golden State is “a tent pole in the country … that protects and invests in rights and freedoms for all people” and that officials “will work with the new administration and we want President Trump succeed in serving all Americans.”
“But when overreach occurs, when lives are threatened, when rights and freedoms are targeted, we will take action,” Newsom said. “And that’s exactly what this special session is about – setting this country up for success, no matter who’s in the White House.”
