The Assembly on Monday cast the final votes on a $25 million legal fund to arm state litigators as they prepare to ramp up a barrage of lawsuits against the Trump administration. The Legislature also approved $25 million to support legal aid and services for undocumented immigrants.
The special session to build a Trump war chest has made for awkward posturing, as Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders have attempted to tone down the rhetoric in response to overwhelming concerns from voters over the economy and cost of living.
In his speech to colleagues, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas began by expressing a sense of urgency for tackling the rising cost of living in California. He contrasted that with the Trump administration, calling it out of control and saying the president “doesn’t care about the Constitution.”
Rivas’ office pointed out that 880,000, or 88%, of California’s farmworkers are immigrants and about half are undocumented.
Republicans have urged their colleagues to attempt to work in partnership with the federal administration on cost issues, rather than setting up barriers.
Democrats blast Trump for dumping water
Lawmakers have expressed outrage after the Trump administration released “billions of gallons” of water from two reservoirs feeding into the San Joaquin Valley.
California Senator Adam Schiff called it “just stupid and ridiculous and dangerous and wasteful.” Fellow Senator Alex Padilla immediately shot off a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth demanding answers for who directed the Army Corps of Engineers to release the water and how it has impacted Tulare Lake communities.
Rep. Jim Costa of Fresno followed up with his own letter pointing out the minimal demand for irrigation water at this time of year. With a below-average snowpack in this region, he warned the action “poses significant threats to a reliable water supply this year.”
Trump punts Mexico, Canada tariffs, as China’s take effect
Mexico and Canada have secured a one-month reprieve from Trump’s new tariffs that were set to take effect at midnight. A 10% additional duty on Chinese imports, however, goes into effect today.
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau both promised to bolster border security in exchange for the temporary pause.
Why it matters: Senators from rural states warn that, if imposed next month, the proposed tariffs will drive up costs for farmers.
In a call with reporters Monday, Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said she had seen reports suggesting the new duties could lead to increased potash costs of $1.70 an acre for corn and $1.42 for soybeans.
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Similarly, Iowa’s Chuck Grassley, a Republican, urged the administration to exempt fertilizer from any Canadian tariff, pointing out that the bulk of U.S. potash imports come from Canada.
Northern states could also face higher energy bills under the tariff plans, Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., warned. Hassan told reporters that consumers in her state are already receiving notices from fuel companies that they will pass along the costs of any new tariffs.
Read our full report at Agri-Pulse.com.
Trump on RFK and pesticides: ‘Maybe that’ll stop’
Today is a critical day for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and hopes for the Make America Healthy Again movement. The Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to vote on Kennedy’s nomination this morning. But a key Republican committee member, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, wouldn’t tell reporters Monday how he was planning to vote. Cassidy would only say he and Kennedy had a “cordial” conversation over the weekend.
Take note: President Donald Trump during a news conference Monday said Kennedy would be looking into whether U.S. farmers use pesticides excessively.
Trump said, “we’re not the healthiest country, so maybe there is something to the fact that we shouldn’t be using so much chemical, and maybe that’ll stop. But Bobby Kennedy is the one, because he’s not a believer in all of the things we have done, and neither are the Europeans.”
No controversy there: The Senate Ag Committee voted 23-0 Monday evening to advance the nomination of Brooke Rollins to be secretary of agriculture. Ag Committee Chair John Boozman, R-Ark., said he expects her nomination to come to the floor soon and be approved easily given the bipartisan support in committee.
New temporary restraining order issued on funding freeze
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., imposed a temporary restraining order on the Trump administration’s efforts to freeze distribution of federal grants and loans. U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan applied the order to all “open awards.”
AliKhan ordered the government to “provide written notice of the court’s [TRO] to all agencies” to which the Office of Management and Budget memo issued last week was addressed.
“The written notice shall instruct those agencies that they may not take any steps to implement, give effect to, or reinstate under a different name the directives in [the memo] with respect to the disbursement of federal funds under all open awards. It shall also instruct those agencies to release any disbursements on open awards that were paused” due to the memorandum.
In her opinion and order issued late Monday, AliKhan said nonprofit groups are at risk of suffering “irreparable injury,” a key consideration in deciding whether to issue a TRO.
Separately, a federal judge in Rhode Island on Friday issued a TRO, agreeing with claims made by 22 states that the funding freeze was likely illegal.
By the way: There’s considerable confusion among farm groups about USDA’s plans for the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities initiative. At least one major project has seen its payments suspended.
Final word:
“With impact of bird flu on egg prices and food security, this hearing couldn’t be more important.” — Senate Ag Chair Melissa Hurtado, sharing disappointment over cancelling an informational hearing scheduled for today, after “certain agency secretaries” would not confirm their participation.
The State Food and Ag Board and the Agricultural Labor Relations Board have also canceled hearings for this week.