{"id":81393,"date":"2026-06-01T22:34:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T05:34:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=81393"},"modified":"2026-06-01T22:34:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T05:34:40","slug":"california-front-runner-becerra-says-state-wont-take-a-knee-to-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=81393","title":{"rendered":"California Front-Runner Becerra Says State Won\u2019t \u2018Take a Knee\u2019 to Trump"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By<\/span>Selen Ozturk<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Xavier Becerra, the former state attorney general and U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary currently leading polls in the 2026 gubernatorial race, is positioning himself as the race\u2019s most experienced anti-Trump candidate.<\/p>\n

At an\u00a0American Community Media briefing<\/a>, he laid out a platform centered on constraining federal immigration enforcement, defending Medi-Cal coverage for undocumented residents and leveraging California\u2019s political infrastructure against illegal overreach by a second Trump administration. Becerra argued that his state and federal record gives him tools and institutional knowledge his opponents lack.<\/p>\n

Immigration: \u2018We will fight when it\u2019s necessary\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

On immigration, Becerra described the Trump administration\u2019s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations as a \u201cmercenary force\u201d and pledged to use California courts to moderate federal agents operating in the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cICE, while it\u2019s a federal agency, still must obey the Constitution. It still must respect state laws when it goes beyond its jurisdiction,\u201d he said, \u201cso we\u2019ll make sure our immigrant families know that they are protected.\u201d<\/p>\n

A 2023\u00a0investigation<\/a>\u00a0found that during Becerra\u2019s tenure at HHS, the agency relaxed longstanding safeguards \u2014 including background checks and file reviews meant to protect children from trafficking \u2014 and lost contact with one-third of the unaccompanied migrant children moved out of overcrowded shelters.<\/p>\n

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Xavier Becerra, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (2021-2025), former California Attorney General and member of Congress, and Democratic Candidate for Governor of California, responds to Donald Trump\u2019s recent announcement that Green Card applicants may have to apply from their home countries.<\/em><\/p>\n

Becerra did not directly address that issue. Instead, he pointed to his record from Trump\u2019s first term, while he was state attorney general: When the administration pressured California\u2019s law enforcement to participate in immigration raids, Becerra\u00a0refused<\/a>, absorbed the resulting lawsuit, won it in court and later recovered $57 million in resources the administration had withheld in retaliation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe took them on in court, and we got our $57 million back,\u201d he said. \u201cWe will partner with them where we must, but we will fight when it\u2019s necessary. We can have a relationship with the federal government as we must, but we will not take a knee.\u201d<\/p>\n

On a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services\u00a0memo<\/a>\u00a0released May 22 that may force most green card applicants to leave the U.S. and apply from abroad, Becerra said he was \u201cabsolutely against it,\u201d describing the policy as part of a broader pattern targeting immigrants regardless of legal standing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are people who are qualifying to be here, which means they have to have a good record,\u201d he said. \u201cIt just once again proves that Donald Trump never intended to go after only the criminals and the people who were doing harm. He\u2019s just after anyone who\u2019s an immigrant, anyone who doesn\u2019t look like him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Becerra also pledged to oppose private, for-profit immigration detention in California and to apply state standards to any such facilities operating within the state.<\/p>\n

Healthcare: \u2018You deserve to have access\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Healthcare drew some of the briefing\u2019s most detailed exchanges.<\/p>\n

Asked to respond to opponents\u2019 charges that he had retreated from support for single-payer, Becerra rejected this framing, citing a 1993 congressional\u00a0co-sponsorship<\/a>\u00a0of a Medicare for All bill, and his work expanding the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid enrollment to a record-high\u00a024.2 million<\/a>\u00a0people covered through private marketplaces.<\/p>\n

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Becerra says he will ensure California residents of all immigration statuses, including those who are undocumented, will have healthcare coverage if he is elected governor of California.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI never backed away, and so that\u2019s an accurate representation of where I have been,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a distortion that some of my opponents have been peddling for some time, but I\u2019ve been consistent throughout my career in public service.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ahead of elections, a statement on Becerra\u2019s campaign website describing him as an \u201cadvocate for single payer\u201d has been\u00a0removed<\/a>\u00a0and replaced with a\u00a012-point plan<\/a>\u00a0focusing on funding preventive care, reducing waste, lowering drug costs and supporting Medi-Cal and CalFresh enrollees whose coverage is threatened by federal cuts.<\/p>\n

On Medi-Cal coverage for undocumented residents, Becerra argued that the cost calculus favors keeping the coverage, as uninsured residents do not stop needing medical care but turn to emergency rooms, the most expensive point of delivery, with the resulting costs absorbed by California taxpayers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the fiscally responsible thing to do, because the moment Donald Trump kicks those 3 million Californians off of their Medi-Cal, guess what, they don\u2019t stop using health care,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you work hard in California, it makes no difference to me where you come from. If you\u2019re working hard, you deserve to have access to the health care that you need.\u201d<\/p>\n

He extended the argument to providers, warning that mass disenrollment would eventually force hospitals and community health centers to close when reimbursement dried up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe doctors, hospitals, community health centers, if they know that the person walking through their door is coming with insurance, they know that they will get reimbursed,\u201d he said. \u201cIf those people walking through their doors do not have insurance, those doctors, hospitals, community health centers know that at some point they\u2019re going to have to start closing their doors because they can\u2019t do business for free.\u201d<\/p>\n

Becerra described the crisis of California\u2019s rural hospitals \u2014 over half now operate at a\u00a0loss<\/a>, while 13 are at risk of closure \u2014 as requiring a willingness to fight Washington for California\u2019s share of federal funding, a challenge that his time at HHS has prepared him to meet.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know how to squeeze every possible cent out of those federal resources, because I ran that agency,\u201d he said. \u201cI know where the money is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under HHS, managing a budget larger than California\u2019s own, Becerra filed\u00a0over 120<\/a>\u00a0lawsuits against Trump\u2019s first administration, with an approximately 82% win rate among the\u00a028 cases<\/a>\u00a0resolved.<\/p>\n

On homelessness, Becerra pitched a prevention-first framework, arguing that keeping vulnerable residents housed before they reach crisis is far cheaper than the downstream cost of shelter and reentry for those already on the street.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt costs so much more money to pick someone off the street,\u201d he said, promising to work with families facing job loss or medical debt before eviction is unavoidable, and to expand only programs with positive measurable outcomes on this front. \u201cI\u2019m going to do everything I can to work with those families, find out what it takes to keep them housed rather than see them become homeless.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Not a billionaire writing himself a check\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

On his campaign finances, Becerra pushed back against comparisons of his own funders to those of billionaire rival Tom Steyer, who has drawn a record $53 million in opposition spending from corporate-backed \u201csuper PACs\u201d and business groups.<\/p>\n

Many of these same interests have spent more than $13 million to back Becerra \u2014 including the anti-single-payer California Medical Association, California firefighters, Planned Parenthood and union groups. Larger corporate donors include PG&E, Airbnb, nearly $1 million from Meta and half a million from Chevron.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe average donation to my campaign is $59,\u201d he said, referring to direct grassroots contributions. \u201cThat\u2019s not a billionaire writing himself a check. It\u2019s people like teachers and nurses and union workers who are supporting this campaign and helping fuel us to victory.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am going to make full use of every lever of government as governor to protect the families that were just like my parents, working really hard, never asking for a lot, just hoping that that would open the door to opportunity, if not for them, then for their kids,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am ready. I will not need training wheels when I become governor,\u201d he added. \u201cMy job is to restore that faith, ignite that dream, and make people believe again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Election Day is June 2, 2026.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BySelen Ozturk Jun 1, 2026 Xavier...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ca-local","category-u-s-a"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=81393"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81393\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81394,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81393\/revisions\/81394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=81393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=81393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=81393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}