The Democratic-led California Legislature has hired Eric Holder to help with any potential fights with the incoming administration, from global warming to immigration. Hiring Holder, who is now a Washington-based attorney, provides a glimpse into how California will fight President-elect Donald Trump on a host of issues. Holder was President Obama’s first attorney general (AG) who departed in 2015 after numerous scandals.

Because of all the fake news and speculation generated before and after the election, one prominent narrative was that President Trump would erase climate change data from government servers.

That started a hacking initiative to preserve all government climate data to third-party servers, which is a violation of federal law.

Outspoken Trump critic

Gov. Jerry Brown, who is an outspoken Trump critic and Hillary Clinton supporter, has already stated California would send its own satellites into orbit to measure temperatures if Trump canceled any climate initiatives by NASA or NOAA. Kevin de León, who leads the state’s Senate, said that utilizing a former U.S. attorney general would bring a lot of “firepower” in defending California’s controversial initiatives.

California also has the highest proportion of Democratic voters and were why Clinton won the popular vote in the 2016 election. Democrats also make up two-thirds of the Legislature as well as all statewide elected officials.

Sanctuary cities

De León is worried that the Republican-controlled Congress and White House will roll out policies that would negatively impact the state’s climate change laws, sanctuary cities, and criminal justice.

California is one of many Democratic-led states that give illegal immigrants taxpayer-funded benefits while providing sanctuary cities to shield them from deportation.

President-elect Trump has surrounded himself with individuals that De León believes are a direct threat to California’s economic well-being. The leader of the state’s Assembly, Anthony Rendon, joined De León in their decision to hire Eric Holder.

Brown also appointed Xavier Becerra, the state’s first Latino attorney general in California. Brown has been very vocal about fighting the Trump administration on everything from immigration enforcement to global warming to criminal justice. He even passed a cow flatulence law and compared fighting climate change to building Noah’s Ark.

Holder’s controversial past

Holder resigned as attorney general for personal reasons amid a flurry of scandals. At least 26 Republicans co-sponsored a resolution to impeach Holder for his role in the ATF’s Operation Fast & Furious, refusal to prosecute IRS staffers who targeted conservatives, refusal to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court, and allegedly lying to Congress when he said he had no knowledge of members of the press being prosecuted for disclosing classified materials.

Now a partner at the law firm Covington & Burling, he represents states and businesses suing the federal government. Holder said he was honored to be the Legislature’s legal advisor if it ever needs “to respond to potential changes in federal law that could impact California’s residents and policy priorities.”

Even though California’s Legislature has the highest number of lawyers on staff, they believe Holder can bring a certain legal expertise and other political talents that may be needed in the coming years. De León can’t say how much Holder’s legal advice will cost but said they would disclose it to taxpayers once its been set.
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