California DOJ says special-session funds helped protect $168 billion in federal funding, AG reports

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the California Department of Justice has drawn down $5 million of a $25 million special-session appropriation to support lawsuits that have blocked or reversed federal actions and protected about $168 billion in funding for the state.

The report Bonta released to the legislature and discussed at the Department of Justice press conference on Oct. 12 said the office filed 37 lawsuits against the federal administration in about 28 weeks and secured early relief in 17 of 19 cases where it asked for temporary restraining orders or preliminary injunctions. Bonta said 13 court orders are currently blocking federal actions and that other victories came when the administration reversed course without a court ruling.

The nut of Bonta’s presentation was financial and legal: the DOJ’s work, funded so far with $5 million, has preserved funding for schools, public health, transportation and electric-vehicle infrastructure that the state depends on. “In just the first six months, California DOJ’s actions have restored, protected, and defended over a $168,000,000,000 in federal funding,” Bonta said. He framed that as a roughly $33,600 return for every $1 of special-session funding spent so far.

Bonta itemized categories of funding he said were protected: about $7 billion in grants for roads, rail and bridges; $939 million for California schools for before-, after- and summer-learning programs and English-learner supports; $972 million for public health functions including immunizations and disease tracking; and more than $300 million for electric-vehicle infrastructure. He identified two early cases as especially consequential: a challenge to an effort to alter birthright citizenship and litigation responding to a White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memo that he said threatened roughly $168 billion for California.

On the mechanics of the appropriation, Bonta said the money has been spent on in-house attorneys and paralegals who file complaints, argue motions, write briefs and defend victories on appeal. “We have not spent any money on outside counsel,” he said, adding the office is trying to internalize the work and expand its staffing. Bonta said the DOJ had used the first $5 million to hire and support staff and that discussions were ongoing with the governor’s office and the legislature about future funding needs.

Reporters pressed for more detail on what the public can track. Bonta said the DOJ has a website with press releases and plans to provide more organized and timely updates about case status, appellate involvement and other posture items. He declined to promise a daily tracker but said the office aims to be as transparent as possible.

Bonta also discussed a pending case over National Guard and Marine deployments to Los Angeles, saying the federal pullback of some personnel appears timed with litigation milestones and could affect whether a judge still considers the dispute ripe for a decision. “Some of these are measured victories — orders we secure and actions the federal government takes in response,” he said.

The department’s report and Bonta’s remarks framed the work as prosecutor-led defense of constitutional and statutory rights and of federally appropriated funds to the state. He reiterated that the DOJ will continue to sue if the federal administration “breaks the law” and that the state will seek additional resources as threats continue.

Less-critical details from the session included acknowledgments of intergovernmental coordination and partnerships with other states’ attorneys general; a governor’s statement of support for the appropriation; and reporters’ questions about the scope and transparency of both the litigation posture and proposed future spending.