So far, California has sued the Trump administration at least 50 times, challenging the federal government on everything from health care access for minorities to the slashing of asbestos reporting requirements.
Yet, the steadfast opposition to Washington is not based solely in the courts, according to California's Secretary of State Alex Padilla.
The state's so-called "resistance" strategy, Padilla said, is rooted in a three-pronged approach: legislation, legal challenges, and civil society organization.
"California has stood up to a lot of what this administration has represented," Padilla told Cheddar on Thursday, adding that the state is especially willing to fight what is antithetical to "Californian values."
Just last week, the Golden State targeted President Trump's taxes, passing a law that would require presidential candidates to release their tax returns in order to be included on the state's primary election ballot.
"We've seen — among so many precedents broken by this administration — a failure to disclose potential conflicts of interests," Padilla said.
During the 2016 election, Trump refused to release his tax returns — upending a longstanding norm. The White House has since resisted several attempts from congressional Democrats to obtain the president's taxes and examine financial holdings for possible fraud and foreign entanglements.
"If the federal government can't force the issue but California can, then we're going to try to do that," added Padilla.
The Trump administration sued the state in response, arguing that the law violates the First Amendment and restricts voting rights. Seemingly anticipating the challenge, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, defended the law's constitutionality last week, saying that the state "is well within its constitutional right to include" the requirement.
On Wednesday, California Republican Chairwoman Jessica Patterson slammed the law, arguing that it "attacks the heart" of the constitution.
"It is a tactic by the left to make sure that the Republican turnout, which is usually dictated by the top of the ticket, is lower than normal," Patterson added in an interview with Cheddar.
Since the 2016 election, which U.S. intelligence agencies have repeatedly said was plagued with misinformation and foreign interference, California has also taken control of its own election security — an issue that has largely stalled at the federal level in the Republican-controlled Senate.
The state allocated over $130 million in the budget last year to replace aging voting machines and conducted a state-wide assessment of security apparatuses and firewall protections. California also implemented additional testing standards for new voting systems and a requirement that every ballot must have a paper trail.
"We are doing anything and everything it takes to ensure the integrity and security of the election," Padilla said on Thursday. "Securing the election is one thing, making sure that we don't fall prey to misinformation or disinformation campaigns is an equal challenge."
In 2016, California voted overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton, who won the state by more than 4 million votes. The state is also home to several prominent Trump critics, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Gov. Newsom, and 2020 Democratic candidates Sen. Kamala Harris and Tom Steyer, the billionaire businessman and founder of Need to Impeach.
Yet the animus is seemingly mutual, with Trump repeatedly attacking California and its major cities since taking office. It was more than 400 days into his presidential term before he stepped foot in California — the longest delay of any modern president to visit the most populous state in the nation.
The Biden administration delivered a temporary win for student loan borrowers this year by extending the moratorium on federal payments for a few more months. That moratorium is coming to an end on May 1st and borrowers will again have their monthly loan payment plopped in their lap.
Stephanie Vanderslice, a creative writing professor paying off debt through the Parent Plus program, and Mike Pierce, executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center, join Cheddar Politics to discuss.
2022 was already going to be a big year for the Supreme Court. We have decisions on major issues like abortion and gun rights on the way. Then, Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement and that set up a major confirmation fight for later this year. Amy Howe, co-founder of SCOTUSblog, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss.
The Labor Department released a better-than-expected report of 467,000 jobs added in January. Heather Boushey, Council of Economic Advisers Member for President Biden, joined Cheddar to tout the administration's handling of the economy amid the pandemic and the upward revisions for the previous month. "It also shows that, because of the revisions, the economy was stronger over the past couple of months," she said. "I don't think that this can be said enough, but economic forecasting during an historic pandemic is extremely difficult." Boushey also addressed issues involving wage growth versus the rapid rise of inflation.
The Labor Department's January jobs report showed 467,000 jobs were added, compared to the 150,000 that were projected, a sign that employment is continuign to return to pre-pandemic levels. Lindsey Piegza, chief economist at investment bank Stifel, joined Cheddar to break down the report, noting the big gains but adding a note of caution. "Remember, even with this morning's stellar report, we're still millions below that level that we had reached prior to the onset of COVID-19," she said." Yes, we are recapturing jobs. We still have further ground that needs to be made before we can talk about reaching that previous peak." Piegza also discussed the role of the Federal Reserve going forward as the employment figures turn more positive.
As President Biden's poll numbers fall with Black voters, Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass. 7th District) joined Cheddar to discuss what she feels could help the embattled administration: deliver on policies. Pressley pointed to stalled legislation such as new voting rights laws and Build Back Betters and canceling student loan debt, which would go a long way to improving his standing with Black constituents. "President Biden has the authority and the power to alleviate this burden, which would also help in closing the racial wealth gap, and he can do it by executive action with the stroke of a pen," she said. "And it doesn't require one vote from Congress. So, the Biden administration just needs to deliver to Black America in a tangible and impactful way."
Mayor Ras Baraka of Newark, NJ and Ayana Morris, co-director of the documentary 'Why Is We Americans?,' join Cheddar News to discuss the new documentary highlighting the impact of the Baraka family.
Former New York City mayor and lawyer to Donald Trump Rudy Giuliani made his singing debut on a taping of Fox’s The Masked Singer. However, Ken Jeong and Robin Thicke, two judges on the competition show, reportedly left in protest when Giuliani was unmasked upon being eliminated.
