As lawmakers and activists nationwide gear up for potential fights with the Trump administration, California has brought on a high-profile figure to help them through any legal battles.
California legislative leaders have commissioned former attorney general Eric Holder to serve as their outside counsel and advise them “in our efforts to resist any attempts to roll back the progress California has made,” Senate Leader Kevin de León and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, both Democrats, said in a joint statement Wednesday.
“I am honored that the legislature chose Covington to serve as its legal advisor as it considers how to respond to potential changes in federal law that could impact California’s residents and policy priorities,” Holder said in a statement Wednesday, referring to his law firm.
Sen. Jean Fuller, the Republican leader in the state senate, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Wednesday.
De León and Rendon have been among the defiant voices cropping up across the country since Donald Trump’s unexpected election. Immediately following Election Day, they delivered a scathing joint statement and said they would “lead the resistance to any effort that would shred our social fabric or our Constitution.” At a swearing-in ceremony last month, Rendon said lawmakers would have to protect the state “from the cynical, shortsighted and reactionary agenda that is rising in the wake of the election.”
After Trump vowed to deport up to 3 million undocumented immigrants in November, de León criticized Trump’s “preposterous statement” and told undocumented Californians that the state would “defend your due process rights and aggressively avail ourselves of any and all tools to prevent an unconscionable overreach by a Trump administration in California.”
This sentiment has been echoed by Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck, who said that his department would not help federal officials with any effort to deport millions of undocumented people. Beck estimated there are 500,000 undocumented people in Los Angeles alone, and he said that he reassured community leaders in the country’s second-biggest city that the police department’s posture would not change after the election.
The Los Angeles Times first reported the news Wednesday about Holder’s selection to advise the California legislature. He will run a team from Covington and Burling, the Washington-based firm where he is a partner, having returned there in 2015 after leaving the Justice Department.
Holder, who supported Trump’s opponent Hillary Clinton during the presidential campaign, declined to comment further when reached Wednesday. He was beloved by many liberals for his focus on civil rights protections and support for same-sex marriage, while he became a lightning rod for criticism from Republicans during his time in the Obama administration. In 2012, he was held in contempt by the GOP-led House of Representatives over a probe into the actions of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) during an undercover sting operation known as “Fast and Furious.”
Holder is also chairing a new Democratic group aimed at redistricting efforts, one that will also enlist help from President Barack Obama after he leaves the White House.
Clinton overwhelmingly beat Trump in California on Election Day, winning the state by more than 4 million votes and nearly doubling his total there, according to the state’s final tally. California was one of numerous states to see anti-Trump demonstrations erupt following the election.
Across the country, concerns about Trump’s plans on such topics as immigration and climate change have prompted people to donate record amounts to the American Civil Liberties Union, Anti-Defamation League, Planned Parenthood and other groups.
Democratic officials nationwide, meanwhile, have vowed to fight Trump’s pledges, taking particular aim at his promises of widespread deportations.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, said his city would “do everything we know how to do to resist” mass deportations. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a Democrat, brought Trump a letter signed by 15 mayors as well as other current and former municipal leaders asking him to continue the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program, which offers temporary protection to undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States before turning 16.
(c) 2017, The Washington Post · Mark Berman
