At 11:15 a.m. on Jan. 20, Donald Trump was sworn back into the White House as the 47th President of the United States. And by 2 p.m. on the same day—after a quick farewell visit to Joint Base Andrews—the now-former president, Joe Biden, was on his way to celebrate retirement in Santa Ynez, California.

The central California wine town, made famous as a world-class pinot noir destination in the 2004 film Sideways, is familiar territory for Biden, who spent a few days there in August 2024 after deciding to withdraw from the election. On that trip, he stayed at billionaire pal Joe Kiani’s ranch; his official agenda did not specify where he would stay on this visit, but local news reports say a motorcade was headed in the direction of Kiani’s 8,000-acre estate shortly after Biden’s arrival in town.

With assurances that “sunlight is pouring over the entire world,” President Donald Trump was sworn into office Monday for his second term. He wasted no time taking potshots at California.

During his 30-minute inauguration speech, Trump said the Los Angeles County wildfires, which broke out two weeks ago, burned without “a token of defense.” (This is not true.) After his swearing-in, Trump also accused the state of voter fraud, but provided no evidence, and directed his administration to route more water from the Delta to elsewhere in California, including Southern California.

In response, Gov. Gavin Newsom said his administration “stands ready to work with” Trump and that he is looking forward to Trump’s upcoming visit to L.A. But the governor’s office also responded to Trump’s wildfire comment with photos of California firefighters in action. Last week, Newsom and top legislative Democrats agreed on a $50 million plan to “Trump-proof” the state by fighting his policies in court.

In other Trump news: 

Uncertainty at the border: Trump on Monday proclaimed a national emergency at the southern border. He then issued a series of executive orders, including ones to target jurisdictions with sanctuary laws (which presumably includes California) and pull their federal funding; designate drug cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations;” and limit birthright citizenship — the latter of which will likely set up a colossal constitutional fight. A decade ago, more than a quarter of the country’s children born in the U.S. to at least one undocumented parent lived in California.

Amid the flurry of proclamations (with more to come throughout the week), undocumented immigrants braced themselves for the road ahead, reports CalMatters’ Wendy Fry. 

One resident who had an ongoing immigration case said he planned to take “no unnecessary trips” between borders. Others — who crossed the border every day for work — said they don’t expect Trump’s executive orders to affect their lives too much, but they do plan to carry proof that they are naturalized U.S. citizens at all times.

Read more here.

CA vs. Trump: And CalMatters’ and Ana B. Ibarra and Ben Christopher dive into California’s legal battles against Trump’s during his first term to see what could lie ahead. Between 2017 and 2021, the state sued the federal administration a total of 123 times. Trump won those cases about a third of the time — a rate that’s lower than the three previous administrations. 

But experts say things could be different this time around: Trump could be more strategic and defend his policy decisions in a way that makes it harder to legally challenge. 

On the other hand, a 2023 ruling by the conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court that makes it easier for businesses and state governments to challenge federal rules (considered at the time a victory for conservatives and Big Business) could ease the path for California’s attorney general to hinder Trump’s administration.

Read more here.

SACRAMENTO — President Donald Trump may visit California this week as state Attorney General Rob Bonta begins filing expected lawsuits against the president’s new executive orders. 

Mr. Trump announced he will be visiting the Southern California fire zone Friday to tour the devastation from the historic wildfires in the Los Angeles area. During his inauguration speech, the president criticized California’s response to the fires. 

As the legal battles begin between Democratic state legislators and the president, California’s GOP, including Republicans in Sacramento County, was celebrating on inauguration night. 

The Capitol Lincoln Club held an inauguration party in Fair Oaks. Newly elected Sacramento County Supervisor Rosario Rodriguez was part of the crowd. 

“Trump reminded us where we were four years ago and where we could be today,” Rodriguez said. 

“The Republican Party has never been in a better position to succeed,” Capitol Lincoln Club board member Christian Forte said. 

As state Republicans celebrated, Bonta, a Democrat, prepared for legal clashes with the Trump administration, including over plans for mass deportations. Nearly half of the country’s undocumented immigrants live in California. 

Following the president’s executive orders, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas issued a statement saying, “I will always fight for immigrants, especially children because America is a nation of immigrants, and I believe in our country’s promise.” 

Besides mass immigration policies, Trump is also seeking to revoke the federal waiver allowing California to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars in 2035. It’s another move expected to end up in court. 

“California is only able to do that because the federal government grants us permission to smart that standard and, apparently with Trump’s executive order, he basically campaigned on this as well. He’s ordering the [Environmental Protection Agency] to revoke that authority from California,” said UC Berkeley Professor Ethan Elkind, who is also the director of the climate program at the university’s Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment. 

During Mr. Trump’s first term, California sued him more than 100 times.