Latest news with #Bonta
Int'l Business Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
Trump Admin 'Can't Keep Up' With Legal Challenges as Justice Department Left Short-Staffed by Cuts, California AG Says
California Attorney General Rob Bonta says the Trump administration is struggling to defend its policies in court due to a hollowed-out Justice Department that "can't keep up" with the mounting legal challenges from state officials. Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, his administration has aggressively rolled out sweeping policies on immigration, voting rights, environmental deregulation and birthright citizenship. In response, Democratic-led states, especially California, have revived their strategy of using the courts to block federal actions. During Trump's first term, California filed over 100 lawsuits against his administration. That legal resistance is now resurging, but this time with even more muscle and resources, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. According to Bonta, California has already filed or joined 22 lawsuits against Trump's second-term administration. Thanks to a $25 million funding boost approved by the state legislature, Bonta's office has hired additional legal talent, many of them former federal attorneys, to build out a war room of sorts. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice, especially its civil rights division, is reportedly understaffed and overwhelmed. Attrition and budget cuts have gutted its capacity, forcing local U.S. attorneys to appear in court for matters usually handled by Washington-based specialists. "Their own strategy of 'flood the zone' — and the confusion and chaos and shock and awe — has almost this boomerang effect, where we've responded and the ball's back in their court now and they can't keep up," Bonta told the Chronicle. "This speed and this volume has repercussions on their ability to defend themselves." The staffing shortages are having real legal consequences: in nine of the 22 lawsuits, federal judges have already granted preliminary injunctions in favor of California. Bonta anticipates that, at the current rate, his office will match the volume of lawsuits filed during Trump's first term by the 2026 midterms. The mismatch in resources, an emboldened California legal team versus a shorthanded federal one, is giving states a significant courtroom advantage. If the Justice Department remains under-resourced, legal experts suggest it could lead to a wave of policy paralysis for the Trump administration. Originally published on Latin Times
San Francisco Chronicle
3 days ago
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
California AG says federal cuts are actually helping legal fight with Trump: ‘They can't keep up'
WASHINGTON — Democratic attorneys general fighting the Trump administration on an array of policy issues are seizing on the widespread cuts and resignations of federal employees, an effort that may be coming back to bite the White House. California Attorney General Rob Bonta, buoyed by $25 million from a special legislative session, has been hiring new staff — including some of those former federal employees, he told the Chronicle while in Washington, D.C., to hear Supreme Court arguments in a case the state is party to. While Bonta and other state attorneys have been strategically preparing for prolonged legal battles against the administration, federal cuts have left the U.S. Justice Department without enough staff to handle its workload. More than half the attorneys at the Justice Department's civil rights division, led by San Francisco attorney Harmeet Dhillon, have left, the Wall Street Journal reported. And in some cases, Bonta said, U.S. attorneys — district prosecutors — have appeared on the Trump administration's behalf instead of lawyers from the main Justice Department. 'Their own strategy of 'flood the zone' — and the confusion and chaos and shock and awe — has almost this boomerang effect, where we've responded and the ball's back in their court now and they can't keep up,' Bonta said. 'This speed and this volume has repercussions on their ability to defend themselves.' During the first Trump administration, then-California Attorney General Xavier Becerra brought or was party to 110 cases, according to a CalMatters database. The state won 82% of the 28 cases that reached a final verdict. This go-round, Bonta has already brought or is party to 22 cases and won injunctions against the administration in nine. The volume of cases is 'double the speed, double the pace,' compared to the first Trump administration, Bonta said. At the current rate, 'we will hit the number of total cases of Trump 1.0 by the (2026) midterms.' 'We're doing everything faster and with more volume in a broader variety of cases, more nuance, more issues,' he said. 'So we're just more proficient at it … including working together and filing more quickly, being more responsive to the actions.' That includes coordination among state attorneys. 'More bodies and more talent is going to help us. We've learned as Democratic AGs how to marshal resources together and share those resources, and deploy them strategically and efficiently,' Bonta said. The first Trump administration was a period of discovery for state attorneys general, who were figuring out how they could use their authority, he said. This time, the top state lawyers were more prepared and began sharing resources over a year before Trump took office. During the first month of Trump's current term, 23 Democratic state attorneys general held a daily video chat to coordinate their efforts, Politico reported. They strategized over which courts to file cases, whether to seek state or federal venues and how to prove sufficient harm to be heard in court. Bonta told Politico he preemptively drafted challenges to potential actions from a second Trump administration, particularly focusing on ideas from Project 2025. Although the final verdict in many of these cases could come from the Supreme Court, whose 6-3 conservative majority includes three Trump appointees, Bonta appeared confident that the state would prevail in several key cases. The state has primarily faced pushback on jurisdictional issues. A U.S. District Court judge hearing the state's challenge to Trump's tariffs suggested it should be heard in the U.S. Court of International Trade instead. In the state's suit over the termination of teacher preparation grants, the Supreme Court ruled that the case was a contractual dispute and needed to be heard in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims rather than a District Court. UC Davis law professor Aaron Tang argued that ruling was effectively the Supreme Court trying to give Trump a win, without actually letting him win by not ruling on the merits of the case. Bonta said the cases that pose the biggest financial risk to California involve the administration's massive import tariffs and its efforts to withhold congressionally appropriated funding from states — which make up about half of the cases he has brought. Trump's proposed tariffs would be 'massively damaging,' to California, he said. 'We're the largest state — nearly 40 million people — fourth largest economy in the world now, largest importer of any state, second largest exporter, biggest manufacturer, largest agricultural exporter,' Bonta said. 'An outsized economy means an outsized impact on California of the tariffs.' Federal funding freezes or cuts are also of huge concern, Bonta said. The second case he brought was against the administration's efforts to freeze all federal grant funding, which would have left a $168 billion gap in California's budget, at a time when the state is facing an enormous deficit. The two cases Bonta said pose the biggest social risks are the administration's effort to revoke birthright citizenship — which was the reason Bonta had traveled to Washington, D.C. — and to force states to require proof of citizenship to vote while prohibiting states from counting ballots received after election day. He said he's confident the states will win the birthright citizenship case because 'it's a deprivation of a constitutional right by our own federal government, and it's so clear and so blatant.'
Time of India
5 days ago
- General
- Time of India
Restoration of Kamla Nehru Ridge to check waterlogging
New Delhi: Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has initiated plans to restore the depression at Kamla Nehru Ridge by converting it into a water body, complementing ongoing restoration efforts. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The project involves channelling rainwater from adjacent areas through a network of pipelines. This initiative was approved following a site visit by lieutenant governor VK Saxena. The inspection primarily focused on revitalising the open green lungs of Kamla Nehru Ridge, which serve thousands of residents from densely populated neighbourhoods such as Kamla Nagar, Malka Ganj, Delhi University, Shakti Nagar, Civil Lines, and Mall Road. "Upon noticing a large dry depression within the ridge, the LG instructed officials to connect it with channels and pipelines from nearby waterlogged areas like Malka Ganj and Civil Lines. This will ensure excess rainwater is directed into the depression, creating a new water body. A similar project in Roshanara Bagh successfully replenished its lake and mitigated waterlogging," said an official. Saxena also noted the poor condition of the kachha paths, gym equipment, boundary walls, and historical monuments like 'Bonta' within the ridge. He reviewed recent works and expressed satisfaction with the laying of porous jute carpeting on pathways and walking tracks, urging that the remaining restoration be completed swiftly. The inspection also addressed persistent waterlogging on Delhi roads, with Public Works Department (PWD) officials present. The LG directed accelerated remedial actions. A key directive was to implement a robust rainwater harvesting system. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "Three-foot diameter pipelines should be laid from footpaths directly into the Kamla Nehru Ridge forest, channelling excess rainwater into the Ridge ecosystem for conservation and groundwater recharge. These pipes should extend about four feet inside the Ridge's boundary to effectively divert surface water," an official said. Footpaths on Rajpur Road are to be repaired to a uniform width of two metres, with similar repairs planned along the Delhi University routes. Additional instructions included pruning trees, fixing manhole covers, adding secondary covers to water tapping pits, and relocating electric poles obstructing roads. All work is to be completed within seven days. Beyond monsoon preparedness, directions were issued to clear excess foliage, hanging wires, redundant cables, dead wood, and other encumbrances along the Ridge's boundary wall. The LG had earlier visited the Ridge on March 21, directing ecological improvements such as covering walking tracks with biodegradable jute mats.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
California tries again to overturn Huntington Beach's controversial voter ID law
After losing last month in Orange County Superior Court, the state of California is asking a state appellate court to overturn a Huntington Beach measure that could require voters to present photo identification to cast ballots in local elections. Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, the state's top elections official, have been tangling with Huntington Beach in court for more than a year over Measure A, which amends the city charter to say that local officials "may" require photo ID for municipal elections starting in 2026. In April, Orange County Superior Court Judge Nico Dourbetas said the state had not shown that "a voter identification requirement compromises the integrity of a municipal election." Huntington Beach Mayor Pat Burns called the ruling a "huge victory." Bonta appealed Wednesday to the 4th Appellate District, where the state hopes for a more favorable hearing. In February, a three-judge panel from the 4th District said that Huntington Beach's assertion of a "constitutional right to regulate its own municipal elections free from state interference" was "problematic," but kicked the case back down to Orange County Superior Court. More than 53% of Huntington Beach voters supported the charter amendment in the March 2024 election. The amendment also requires that Huntington Beach provide 20 in-person polling places and to monitor ballot drop boxes. The city has not shared plans on how the law could be implemented in next year's elections. A representative for Huntington Beach didn't respond to requests for comment Thursday. The city's lawyers have argued that the city charter gives local officials autonomy to oversee municipal issues, including local elections. Bonta and Weber contend that while California's 121 "charter cities" can govern their own municipal affairs, local laws can't conflict with state laws on issues of "statewide concern," including the integrity of California elections and the constitutional right to vote. The voter ID law is one of several fronts in the ongoing battle that conservative officials in Huntington Beach have waged against California since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The city has used similar arguments about its charter city status in fights over state housing laws, education policies for transgender students and "sanctuary state" immigration laws. The issue of voter ID has become a flashpoint with conservative politicians, including President Trump, who in January demanded that California enact a voter ID law in order to receive aid for the devastating Los Angeles area wildfires. California voters are required to verify their identities when they register to vote, and the state imposes criminal penalties for fraudulent registration. California does not require photo identification at the polls but does require that voters provide their names and addresses. The photo ID measure may also be invalidated by Senate Bill 1174, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed last fall, which bars local election officials from requiring photo identification in elections. Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter. Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond, in your inbox twice per week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
California tries again to overturn Huntington Beach's controversial voter ID law
After losing last month in Orange County Superior Court, the state of California is asking a state appellate court to overturn a Huntington Beach measure that could require voters to present photo identification to cast ballots in local elections. Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, the state's top elections official, have been tangling with Huntington Beach in court for more than a year over Measure A, which amends the city charter to say that local officials 'may' require photo ID for municipal elections starting in 2026. In April, Orange County Superior Court Judge Nico Dourbetas said the state had not shown that 'a voter identification requirement compromises the integrity of a municipal election.' Huntington Beach Mayor Pat Burns called the ruling a 'huge victory.' Bonta appealed Wednesday to the 4th Appellate District, where the state hopes for a more favorable hearing. In February, a three-judge panel from the 4th District said that Huntington Beach's assertion of a 'constitutional right to regulate its own municipal elections free from state interference' was 'problematic,' but kicked the case back down to Orange County Superior Court. More than 53% of Huntington Beach voters supported the charter amendment in the March 2024 election. The amendment also requires that Huntington Beach provide 20 in-person polling places and to monitor ballot drop boxes. The city has not shared plans on how the law could be implemented in next year's elections. A representative for Huntington Beach didn't respond to requests for comment Thursday. The city's lawyers have argued that the city charter gives local officials autonomy to oversee municipal issues, including local elections. Bonta and Weber contend that while California's 121 'charter cities' can govern their own municipal affairs, local laws can't conflict with state laws on issues of 'statewide concern,' including the integrity of California elections and the constitutional right to vote. The voter ID law is one of several fronts in the ongoing battle that conservative officials in Huntington Beach have waged against California since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The city has used similar arguments about its charter city status in fights over state housing laws, education policies for transgender students and 'sanctuary state' immigration laws. The issue of voter ID has become a flashpoint with conservative politicians, including President Trump, who in January demanded that California enact a voter ID law in order to receive aid for the devastating Los Angeles wildfires. California voters are required to verify their identities when they register to vote, and the state imposes criminal penalties for fraudulent registration. California does not require photo identification at the polls but does require that voters provide their names and addresses. The photo ID measure may also be invalidated by Senate Bill 1174, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed last fall, which bars local election officials from requiring photo identification in elections.
