The California Department of Justice intends to hold the President Donald Trump administration accountable to the law, said California Attorney General Rob Bonta in his keynote speech for a legal symposium on Tuesday.
The symposium, titled “New Administration, New Legal Landscape: Navigating Emerging Legal Issues Between California and the Federal Government,” was jointly hosted by Stanford Law School and State Sen. Josh Becker J.D. ’99 M.B.A. ’99 and examined California’s leadership amidst national policy shifts.
In 2021, Bonta was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom to replace Xavier Becerra ’80 J.D. ’84, who became Secretary of Health and Human Services. Prior to his role as Attorney General, Bonta served as a member of the California State Assembly from District 18, which encompasses Oakland and Alameda County.
Bonta is one of 22 democratic attorneys general who have collectively sued the Trump administration eight times since the inauguration. He said that his office was “preparing briefs, doing legal analysis, writing memos and considering legal strategy” even before Trump was elected.
“Anything and everything we do is completely dependent on what the Trump administration does,” Bonta said. “If the president and his administration follow the law and comply with the constitution, there’s no reason for us to go to court.”
For Bonta, the need for collaboration with other state attorneys general became clear after hearing the promises Trump made on the campaign trail, including his pledge to revoke birthright citizenship.
“I and my fellow democratic attorneys general made a promise, too — that we would take him to court when he tried,” Bonta said.
Bonta and his colleagues met over a period of several months prior to the election, aiming to prepare a response to any illegal action taken by Trump. Their preparation enabled a rapid retaliation to the early executive orders, filing legal challenges just one day after Trump issued an executive order revoking birthright citizenship.
In a 50-page suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the State of Massachusetts, the attorneys general claimed that the executive order violated the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment.
They were granted temporary restraining orders in both cases, which have since been upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.
“Our current attorney general has met the challenge with courage and strength of protecting our most vulnerable communities,” said Becker, praising Bonta’s legal actions in the new administration.
For Antonio López Ph.D. ’25, who recently began working with local advocacy group ALAS, understanding the new legal landscape is a top priority.
“It’s not just a legal issue,” said López, who acknowledged that the onslaught of executive orders — particularly the new administration’s approach to immigration reform — was inspiring fear and physiological trauma.
López was also inspired by the response to these executive orders. “There’s opposition and resistance with all the lawsuits that dozens of cities across the country are mounting against Trump, so it’s not just that we’re standing idly by,” said López. These lawsuits include the ones filed by Bonta and his colleagues.
For Bonta, the fight to uphold democracy is a personal mission. Born in Quezon City, Philippines in 1972, Bonta and his family immigrated to the U.S. when he was two months old. Motivating Bonta’s parents’ move was a desire to raise their son to appreciate the tenets of freedom and democracy, law and due process and human and civil rights.
“[My parents] wanted me to be in a place where I could pursue my California dream,” Bonta said. “And despite what other people have said, the California dream is alive and well — I know because I’m living mine.”
