Some California Republicans have capitalized on the country’s new GOP administration by introducing (or reintroducing) legislation that they say align with President Donald Trump’s policies.
State Sen. Shannon Grove, for example, is reintroducing a bill to establish a state fund that parents could access so their kids can attend private or religious schools. In a statement, the Bakersfield Republican said her proposals “are in alignment” with Trump’s executive order that expands “educational opportunities for all students.”
Shortly after Trump floated the idea to condition federal disaster aid with voter ID laws in California, Assemblymembers Carl Demaio of San Diego and Bill Essayli of Corona resurfaced their push for a voter ID bill that would, in part, roll back a law passed last year restricting voter ID requirements. In their introduction of the measure, they say it fulfills the condition “imposed by President Trump.”
And Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh of Redlands authored a bill to exempt workers from owing taxes on their tips — a proposal that Trump and former Vice President Kamala Harris both supported, but that Trump has repeatedly pledged to advance as president.
- Ochoa Bogh, in an email to CalMatters: “I believe there’s a real benefit to tying this bill to broader federal initiatives, especially when it’s an idea that has already received strong bipartisan support.”
Though some of these proposals could be popular among voters, Republican lawmakers still face a Democratic supermajority. Trump also “still lost resoundingly” in California, said longtime GOP consultant Mike Madrid, and nationalizing state issues by hitching them to Trump may not always be a winning strategy. So why do it?
- Madrid: “They’re trying to demonstrate their fealty to Trump on a personal level. … (It’s) the main characteristic of the Republican party.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom has been less in sync with Trump’s agenda but is now seeking his favor. He met with the president in the Oval Office on Wednesday and emerged displaying optimism — but no concrete assurances that much-needed disaster aid is forthcoming to fire-ravaged Los Angeles.
Amid ongoing threats from Trump and Republican leaders in Congress to withhold or condition aid, Newsom also met with members of California’s congressional delegation, including GOP Reps. Ken Calvert of Corona and Doug LaMalfa of Richvale, and Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee. Photos of those meetings peppered a press release from Newsom’s office, but there were no images of Newsom with Trump, and the White House was silent on the exchange.
“I look forward to more productive meetings,” Newsom said in a video posted to social media, “and I look forward to the spirit that defined the meetings of this day — that spirit of collaboration and cooperation.”
