The mayor of Maryland’s second-largest city caused a firestorm after announcing his plan seeking the establishment of a taxpayer-funded “legal advocacy fund” to defend immigrants “who may be harmed by policies from the new (Trump) administration.”

Frederick Mayor Michael O’Connor, a Democrat, hearkened back to his ancestors’ arrival from Ireland in saying President-elect Donald Trump’s “first term is prologue” on how he will treat immigrants in announcing an appropriation request to “ensure [immigrants] have the legal support they need to stand strong and remain in this community they have chosen to call home.”

“In many regards, this election did not go as I had hoped,” said O’Connor, whose city of 86,000 sits halfway between Washington, D.C. and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

“As many residents know, our city council recently made a decision to provide voting rights to any resident that calls Frederick home, regardless of citizenship status. We will continue to make progress on implementation as it’s our responsibility and not take any step that would seek to create division, target vulnerable populations or undermine the trust that we have worked hard to build in our community,” O’Connor added.

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The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee criticized the move, saying O’Connor’s “pledge to protect illegal aliens is particularly appalling.” He highlighted the case of Walter Javier Martinez, an MS-13 gang member who was sentenced to 70 years for the rape, strangulation and murder of Kayla Hamilton, a young, autistic woman in nearby Harford County. Martinez, who was 17 at the time, had been released to a “sponsor” in Frederick before committing the crime. He pleaded guilty to Hamilton’s murder in August. 

Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., said public officials at all levels of government have a responsibility to protect their citizens:

“I am confident the incoming Trump administration will disabuse these state and local leaders of the notion they are above federal immigration law.” 

Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins told Fox News Digital that O’Connor’s plan is “totally inappropriate.”

“I think he’s going to anger the taxpayers. And aside from that, I think it’s unfair to the taxpayer,” Jenkins said in a Monday interview.

He added there are enough private or non-profit advocacy groups that would front legal fees and such for migrants facing federal action.

Jenkins, whose department is responsible for enforcing laws outside Frederick city proper, predicts the move will invite increased criminal activity to the area under the “false perception” they’ll be protected.

“He’s not going to let the Frederick Police Department cooperate with ICE.”

Jenkins praised incoming “border czar” Tom Homan, adding the ICE veteran doesn’t need Frederick city’s blessing to conduct federal operations.

He noted that local and county agencies don’t have jurisdiction to enforce immigration law, but reiterated he is fully supportive of Trump’s and Homan’s general policy plans.

“I am 100% supportive from the standpoint I want to do everything I can to keep my county safe, our citizens safe, reduce crime, remove a criminal element, and let’s clean this country up.”

In his remarks reported last week, O’Connor cited Vice President Kamala Harris’ concession speech, in which she said, “Now is the time we must be organized, energized and engaged.” He said Frederick would add focusing on upholding the city’s values to her sentiment.

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Fox News Digital reached out to O’Connor for further comment. Frederick notably hosts both the presidential Camp David retreat in the nearby Catoctin Mountains and the U.S. biological defense headquarters at Fort Detrick.

In his public remarks, O’Connor denied he was making a political message, but instead a “patriotic one.”

“While we cannot predict every policy or action this administration may take. We have seen enough to know our path forward here in Frederick is clear. We will be steadfast in ensuring that our city continues to be a place where everyone feels safe, respected and protected.”

O’Connor added that the Frederick Police Department — separate from Jenkins’ agency — is “committed to ensuring all residents feel safe in reporting crime and know that they will not be questioned about their immigration status.”

“We refuse to aid and abet outside agencies attempting to detain, deport or remove any residents from our community,” the mayor said.

Asked for first-hand comment, the FPD said it is committed to building trust and maintaining open lines of communication with all members of our diverse community.”

“For years, we have focused solely on enforcing traffic and criminal laws, not immigration laws… Immigration enforcement is the responsibility of federal agencies, not the Frederick Police Department.”

In their statement sent to Fox News Digital, the department said it does not inquire about immigration status from residents who need help or are reporting a crime, and it wants everyone in Frederick to feel safe in their interactions with police.

In Anne Arundel County, which includes the capital Annapolis, Democratic County Executive Steuart Pittman suggested similar defenses to O’Connor’s for immigrants facing deportation. FOXBaltimore reported Pittman said Anne Arundel will provide services to families of a deported breadwinner.

In Annapolis itself, Gov. Wes Moore told Fox News Digital the U.S. immigration system is broken and that Congress must fix it.

“Federal leaders need to set aside politics and work to ensure that our border is secure and that we have a fair and humane immigration system,” he said, adding he comes from a family of immigrants and is “deeply connected to the immigrant story and contributions” of their communities.

Moore addressed “speculation” about how Trump will address immigration policy:

“As governor, I have an obligation to protect Marylanders, including members of our immigrant communities. I take that obligation seriously and will wait to see what actions the new administration takes.”

Fox News Digital also reached out to potential Senate Homeland Security Committee chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., and a listed contact for Democratic Rep.-elect April McClain-Delaney, who will represent Frederick in the new term.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom will convene the state legislature for a special emergency session Monday to propose a “Trump-proof” legal defense fund of up to $25 million for the state’s justice department.

Newsom said in a statement the Golden State “is a tent pole of the country … protecting and investing in rights and freedoms for all people” and that officials “will work with the incoming administration and we want President Trump to succeed in serving all Americans.” 

“But when there is overreach, when lives are threatened, when rights and freedoms are targeted, we will take action,” Newsom said. “And that is exactly what this special session is about – setting this state up for success, regardless of who is in the White House.”

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State lawmakers, who are majority Democratic, are expected to introduce the proposed legislation in the coming weeks. Officials anticipate the legislation will be signed into law before Inauguration Day on Jan. 20.

Between 2017 and 2021, California’s Department of Justice led 122 lawsuits against Trump administration policies, spending $42 million on litigation. Newsom’s office said in one case, the federal government was ordered to reimburse California nearly $60 million in public safety grants.

While California filed over 100 lawsuits against the Trump administration, President-elect Donald Trump lobbed only four major lawsuits against the state. In 2018, Trump’s DOJ filed a lawsuit over three California sanctuary state laws that restricted cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. That same year, Trump sued California for its state-level net neutrality law.

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The California Capitol, shown in this 2022 photo, will host a special session in December 2024, called by Gov. Gavin Newsom in response to President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

In 2019, Trump also filed a lawsuit against California’s vehicle emissions standards, attempting to revoke California’s ability to set its own emissions rules. The Trump administration also sued California over its controversial independent contractor law, AB 5, in 2020. 

California, a sanctuary state for illegal immigrants, abortion procedures and transgender transition treatments for children, could be targeted by the Trump administration, especially considering Trump’s mass deportation plan of illegal immigrants. 

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Meanwhile, Republican state Sen. Brian Jones, who serves as the upper chamber’s minority leader, said last month the special session “is clearly just another political stunt” and a “desperate attempt to distract from Democrats’ significant losses across California on Tuesday — in the state Senate, state Assembly, U.S. House, and on key ballot measures, including Prop 5’s defeat and Prop 36’s overwhelming win.”

“Californians have made it clear: affordability is their top concern,” Jones said. “Yet, even with the massive deficit he created, Gov. Newsom wants to hand his attorney general a blank check to wage endless battles against the federal government — while our own state is on fire, both literally and metaphorically.”

WASHINGTON —  Tulsi Gabbard, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to oversee the nation’s 18 intelligence agencies, is a woman of strong views, vigorously expressed.

A former Bernie Sanders Democrat, she now says the Democratic Party is controlled by “an elitist cabal of warmongers” that includes “rogue intelligence and law enforcement agents.” President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, she wrote recently, are merely puppets of that cabal.

A staunch anti-interventionist who opposes almost any use of U.S. military force, the former congresswoman from Hawaii blames Biden — not Vladimir Putin — for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

All of which echoes Trump’s views, especially his conviction that the FBI, CIA and other national security agencies have plotted ceaselessly against him.

On the other hand, during Trump’s first term in the White House, she also complained that he was too tough on Iran and denounced him for acting like “Saudi Arabia’s bitch.”

This year, though, she rallied to his side and endorsed him for promising to seek a thaw with Russia. She was a frequent, telegenic surrogate for his campaign on Fox News. No wonder Trump decided she was the perfect choice to guard the nation’s secrets as director of national intelligence.

National security veterans from both parties are not only unimpressed; they’re alarmed.

“We normally look for demonstrated competence in a nominee,” said Gregory F. Treverton, a former top intelligence official during the Obama administration who now teaches at USC. “This is a case of demonstrated incompetence. … She was obviously selected solely because she’s loyal to Trump.”

“I think she’s a serious threat to our national security,” John Bolton, who served as Trump’s national security advisor during his first term, said in a television interview. “Her judgment is nonexistent.”

Among Republicans in the Senate, Gabbard’s nomination elicited a few glowing endorsements — but an impressive list of noncommittal statements.

“That’s a nominee that illustrates the importance of a full background check,” said Susan Collins of Maine, one of the GOP senators who helped sink the nomination of former Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general last month.

Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma said he “will have a lot of questions.” “It’s really important that we have leadership there that’s able to support” the intelligence agencies, he added.

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, formerly the GOP’s second-ranking Senate leader, gave a speech praising most of Trump’s national security nominees by name — but left Gabbard conspicuously off the list. A Cornyn aide declined to say whether the omission was deliberate.

To Senate-watchers, the meaning of all that terseness was clear: If any of Trump’s nominees are in danger, Gabbard is at the top of the list.

Her long record as a foreign policy dissident under both Democratic and Republican presidents will give Senate hawks plenty to scrutinize — and, perhaps, to excoriate.

She not only blamed Biden for Russia’s war on Ukraine (she claims he failed to acknowledge Putin’s “legitimate security concerns” and demanded the United States cut off military aid to Kyiv. She also charged that the U.S. was funding dangerous biological laboratories in Ukraine — “parroting fake Russian propaganda,” Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah complained.

On the Syrian civil war, Gabbard opposed U.S. aid to the rebels fighting the brutal regime of Bashar Assad, met with the authoritarian leader and defended him against the allegations that he used chemical weapons on his own people. Assad, who is propped up by military aid from Iran and Russia, “is not the enemy of the United States,” she said.

She defended Edward Snowden and Julian Assange, who were indicted for masterminding two of the biggest leaks of intelligence secrets in U.S. history — a position unlikely to endear her to intelligence community professionals or hawks in the Senate.

Gabbard also criticized Trump during his first term for military intervention, including for bombing Syrian government forces in 2017 in retaliation for Assad’s use of chemical weapons against civilians.

She condemned Trump for ordering the assassination of Iran’s Gen. Qassem Soleimani in 2020, and for imposing harsh economic sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program. She also excoriated Trump for supporting Saudi Arabia’s authoritarian regime in exchange for military purchases — the reason she called him “Saudi Arabia’s bitch.”

Trump does not appear to have held any of that against her — especially after she began campaigning for him. And, of course, he shares Gabbard’s view of the CIA as a rogue agency that needs to be brought to heel.

That’s the core of the problem with her nomination, Treverton argues.

“She’s going to be at war with the intelligence community,” he said. “She’ll politicize it in ways that are obvious and not obvious.”

Intelligence, he added, is an area in which political loyalty is not always a cardinal virtue.

“If the president surrounds himself with yes-men and yes-women, that’s dangerous,” he said. “You need to encourage intelligence officers to come forward with bad news, instead of telling leaders only what they want to hear.”

Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the former Senate leader, has said he plans to use his remaining time in the Senate to oppose the rising isolationism in his party.

He has criticized Trump’s foreign policy slogan, “America First,” as similar to “the language they used in the ‘20s and ‘30s.” He has said pushing back against Putin and his allies, especially in Ukraine, must be a top priority — no matter what Trump and Gabbard think.

There are at least a dozen national security Republicans in the Senate — “Reagan Republicans,” in McConnell’s words — who share that view. With the GOP holding a 53-47 majority, it would take only four to sink a nomination.

Will McConnell and other Russia hawks have the courage of their convictions? This nomination would be a good place to start.