A cadre of blue-state governors is already preparing a litany of political and legal moves to shield their states’ policies and residents from federal actions under Donald Trump’s new administration.
The plans from Democratic governors across the country — including a handful of potential 2028 presidential contenders — offer both a repeat of how leaders of liberal states pushed back against Trump during his first term, as well as a snapshot of what the resistance to him from the left will look like this time around.
In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that he would convene a special session of the Legislature explicitly intended to “safeguard California values and fundamental rights in the face of an incoming Trump administration.”
In a news release, he said the session would focus “on bolstering California legal resources to protect civil rights, reproductive freedom, climate action, and immigrant families.”
Newsom outlined that the session, set to kick off Dec. 2, will take “expedited action” to “best protect California and its values from attacks” on LGBTQ rights and women’s rights. He also said it would “provide additional resources” to the state’s Justice Department and other agencies to “pursue robust affirmative litigation” against future potential unlawful actions by the Trump administration, as well as to defend against any federal lawsuits from the administration that could be filed.
He added that the session would be the “first of several actions” by his administration and the Legislature to begin “shoring up California’s defenses against an incoming federal administration that has threatened the state on multiple fronts.”
“The freedoms we hold dear in California are under attack — and we won’t sit idle. California has faced this challenge before, and we know how to respond,” Newsom said in a statement. “We are prepared, and we will do everything necessary to ensure Californians have the support and resources they need to thrive.”
Newsom’s office told The Associated Press that the governor was attempting to “Trump-proof” the state’s laws.
Trump hit back at Newsom in a lengthy post on Truth Social on Friday, referring to him as “Governor Gavin Newscum” and saying he was “using the term ‘Trump-Proof’ as a way of stopping all of the GREAT things that can be done to ‘Make California Great Again.’”
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who like Newsom is considered to be among the Democrats in the 2028 mix, echoed many of the same themes during a press conference this week.
“To anyone who intends to come, take away the freedom and opportunity and dignity of Illinoisans, I would remind you that a happy warrior is still a warrior,” he said Thursday. “You come for my people, you come through me.”
Pritzker, whose Think Big America nonprofit group spent millions of dollars on abortion-rights ballot measures in four states this cycle, called Illinois “a refuge for those whose rights are being denied elsewhere,” including those seeking political asylum, reproductive health care or to avoid persecution because of their sexual orientation or gender.
He nodded to policies his administration has enacted, including codifying abortion rights and a law requiring gender-affirming care to be covered by health insurers in Illinois.
Efforts Trump-proof Illinois have been ongoing for months, if not longer, said Pritzker chief of staff Anne Caprara.
She said the state is looking into other legal protections for women who travel to the state to access reproductive care, including protecting transponder data and medical records from out-of-state attorneys general.
The state also has been working to codify environmental regulations in case a Trump administration tries to roll back clean air and water protections, as well as ensuring labor protections are maintained.
“We’re literally going through Project 2025 to understand every element of what they might touch. Some of this work has been done or in the process for a while,” Caprara said.
She also said collaborative efforts involving other Midwestern states are in the works.
“Midwest governors who governed through Covid with Trump at the helm — it got hairy then — we’ve been through this before and are determined this time to draw in those lessons and make sure that to the degree it makes sense we are collaborating on best practices and how to creatively deal with the more difficult pieces of this,” Caprara sais. “Those relationships the governors at large on the Democratic side of the aisle have been key all along in navigating those years of Trump.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul also announced an effort this week — dubbed the “Empire State Freedom Initiative” — she said was designed to address “policy and regulatory” threats that could happen during Trump’s administration.
The effort, being conducted together with the office of New York’s Democratic Attorney General Letitia James, will address federal legal “threats” to reproductive freedom, immigration issues, civil rights, gun safety, climate change progress, environmental justice and other issues, they said in a joint announcement this week.
“I’m committed to working with anyone on policies that make our state stronger, safer and more livable — but my administration will also be prepared to protect New Yorkers’ fundamental freedoms from any potential threats,” Hochul said in a statement Wednesday.
She said in the statement that officials leading the effort in the state had already developed an initial analysis of “likely” statutory, regulatory and fiscal “vulnerabilities” based on comments and policy proposals from Trump and his team, and had begun developing legislation, rules and appropriations that would serve to counter such federal actions.
In addition, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said on MSNBC on Wednesday that she would use “every tool in the toolbox” to “protect our residents” and to “hold the line on democracy and the rule of law.”
Healey, who as the state’s attorney general during Trump’s first term challenged his administration several times on immigration policies, said she’d exercise her executive and regulatory authority, and make use of legislation in the state to fight various Trump policies.
Specifically asked about Trump’s plan to implement mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, Healey said she would “absolutely not” allow state police to assist in such an effort.
Asked about Democratic governors’ response to Trump’s return to the White House, Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement: “The American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail. He will deliver.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, another possible 2028 contender, referred to a statement he released Thursday in response to Trump’s victory that focused heavily on unity when asked whether similar efforts were underway in the state.
“Now that this election is over, it is time to govern — to work together, to compromise, and to get stuff done,” Shapiro said in that statement. “I believe there’s more that unites us than divides us — and we must work together to continue to get stuff done for Pennsylvania.
Unlike in the deep-blue states of California, New York and Massachusetts, where Democrats enjoy a trifecta of power across state government, the Legislature in battleground Pennsylvania is split, which would make plans to counter Trump more difficult. Plus, Trump just carried the state at the presidential level.
“Let me also make clear: I will never back down from standing up for the freedoms I was elected to protect. I will continue to defend our democracy, defend our fundamental rights, and ensure we continue the legacy of William Penn by building a Commonwealth that is warm and welcoming for all,” Shapiro added.
In New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy pledged to both push back against Trump when necessary, while also seeking out areas for compromise.
“If it’s contrary to our values, we will fight to the death,” Murphy said at a Wednesday press conference, mentioning issues such as immigration and reproductive rights.
“If there’s an opportunity for common ground, we will seize that as fast as anybody,” he added.