How To Stop Trump: California Hires Eric Holder To Battle White House On Immigrants, Environment

Preparing for years of potentially exhaustive legal battles with the federal government, California’s State Legislature announced Wednesday it had hired Eric Holder, President Barack Obama’s former attorney general and the first African-American to hold the position, as a legal advisor under the next White House administration.

Holder will be tasked with representing the state and its largely Democratic constituents who voted overwhelmingly for former Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, who received four million more votes than President-elect Donald Trump in California alone. The highly-regarded Washington legal expert will represent California in any legal battle against the president-elect’s administration and federal government, focusing particularly on issues including immigration, criminal justice and global warming, the New York Times reported Wednesday.

Along with its fellow coastal city of New York, California quickly became one of the biggest proponents to Trump’s election, as the state gained a supermajority of Democrats in its Legislature. The Golden State has already passed a batch of immigration reform measures to protect vulnerable immigrants under the next administration, as Trump has vowed to deport up to three million undocumented immigrants immediately upon taking office.

"Having the former attorney general of the United States brings us a lot of firepower in order to prepare to safeguard the values of the people of California," Kevin de Leon, Democratic leader of the California Senate, told New York Times. "This means we are very, very serious."

Leon said his party was gearing up to protect the state’s residents under the next White House, following Trump’s controversial campaign rhetoric and insults targeting Muslims, Mexicans and women.

"It was very clear that it wasn’t just campaign rhetoric," he continued. "He was surrounding himself with people who are a very clear and present danger to the economic prosperity of California."

The move makes Holder, one of Obama’s closest colleagues, one of the most upcoming prominent voices under the next administration to help defend the president’s progressive ideologies surrounding immigration reform and climate change. Meanwhile, the two have also paired up to lead a new umbrella group called the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, which will defend against Republican-led gerrymandering that’s caused losses in statehouses nationwide for the Democratic party.

"I am honored that the Legislature chose Covington to serve as its legal adviser 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. "I am confident that our expertise across a wide array of federal legal and regulatory issues will be a great resource to the Legislature."