California state lawmakers have hired former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to represent the state as legal counsel in upcoming battles with the Trump administration.
In a statement released Wednesday, California Sen. Kevin de Leon, a Democrat from Los Angeles, and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, also a Democrat, said the state expects to be in court often against Trump.
“With the upcoming change in administrations, we expect that there will be extraordinary challenges for California in the uncertain times ahead. The legislature will work with the governor and our next attorney general to protect California’s economy and our sensible policies on climate change, healthcare, civil rights and immigration,” the lawmakers said in a statement.
“This is a critical moment in the history of our nation. We have an obligation to defend the people who elected us and the policies and diversity that make California an example of what truly makes our nation great.”
The best way to do that is to hire an accomplished legal mind like Holder to represent the state, they said.
“To accomplish that we will assemble the best and brightest in defense of our values and constitutional guarantees, and towards that end, the Legislature has retained the services of an expert legal team from the nationally-renowned Covington & Burling law firm, led by former United States Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr.,” the statement read.
Democratic operatives are looking to states to file lawsuits against the Trump administration to hold it in check, much in the same way Republican attorneys general did to President Obama.
Holder, who was often defending against those attorneys general, said he’s honored to be on the other side of the battle.
“I am honored that the legislature chose Covington to serve as its legal advisor as it considers how to respond to potential changes in federal law that could impact California’s residents and policy priorities,” he 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.”
