SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California lawmakers, led by Gov. Gavin Newsom, have promised to address the state’s high cost of living while steeling the administration against the incoming Trump administration by proposing a $25 million litigation fund to prepare the Justice Department for potential litigation with the White House.

Experts are skeptical of Newsom’s plan to bring jobs to areas where polls show he is least popular, and note his approval numbers have steadily declined over the last year, suggesting that his message to tackle affordability may not resonate. Moreover, California also faces a $2 billion deficit in the next fiscal year, and the governor has been derided as being “out of touch,” most recently for his purchase of a $9 million Marin County home.

Since the election, the governor has oscillated between offering the incoming president an “open hand, not a closed fist” and calling Trump’s pledge to levy 25% tariffs on imported goods a “betrayal” to consumers who want prices to come down.

“I want everyone to know I hear them, and I see them. It’s not about who you voted for. I care about people. I care about Trump supporters,” Newsom said in response to a request for comment from The Sacramento Bee.

State Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat who chairs the Senate’s budget and fiscal review committee and has been a staunch ally of the governor, dismissed his declining popularity as a nonissue.

“I don’t think approval ratings matter. They go up and down for all of us,” Wiener said. “The governor has shown he can deliver big results.”

Newsom’s administration is rolling out a jobs plan across the state, with a focus on areas like the Central Valley, where his approval is the lowest statewide. Former Mayor Ashley Swearengin appeared alongside Newsom in Fresno late last month, where they announced a $58 billion plan to create more jobs from electricians to carpenters, engineers and health care workers.

While specifics are yet to be revealed, Swearengin said the approach “allows for local and regional priorities to filter up to the statewide.”

“We’re making the case to Sacramento, after years of being overlooked, and not even a blip on the radar,” she said. “This approach at least gives us that chance to ask: How aggressive, collaborative and creative are we willing to be?”

California Labor Federation President Lorena Gonzalez said recent discontent among working class people — who shifted to the right in the recent election — shows that no politician in the last election took on the issue of addressing “the fact that people can’t make ends meet.”

“Our (union) members told us loud and clear. They voted for Joe Biden, largely for Democrats, but there was a siphoning (of support) and discontent about the cost of living,” Gonzalez said of the Nov. 5 race.

Her group, which represents nearly 1,300 unions and 2.3 million workers, has supported legislation like extending bargaining rights to gig workers, to mixed success. Newsom has vetoed others, like a recent bill that would have put guardrails on artificial intelligence, which she called a “threat” to jobs like those of truck drivers.

“This is a problem that is growing,” Gonzalez said. “We know Trump is not going to take on the tech bros. He’s putting them in his administration. Are we going to allow tech companies to come in and devalue work? We’re not even willing to talk about those jobs. This is something the governor needs to address. It’s one thing to talk about the cost of living, but if there are no jobs or middle-class union jobs, then we’re really going to be in trouble.”

A poll released this week by the Public Policy Institute of California said that two-thirds of Californians “no longer believe in the American dream,” while a pre-election poll published in October said 52% of those surveyed disapproved of Newsom’s performance as governor.

“He’s a good messenger in terms of talking to Democrats, but it limits his ability to reach a broad audience among the public,” said PPIC pollster Mark Baldassare. “In order to be effective, he will need to broaden discussions and reach out beyond his base of Democratic voters.”

To do that will require “reaching out across the aisle and bringing in people outside the Democratic fold” like local officials and reaching out to red counties, he said.

State Sen. Suzette Valladares, a Santa Clarita Republican, said she was optimistic that addressing affordability would be a bipartisan issue in the next legislative session.

“There is a growing appetite to address affordability,” she said, pointing to Republicans’ recent gains in the Legislature, though Democrats still maintain a supermajority.

She floated tax cuts for small businesses and inflation adjustments to tax credits for homeowners and renters as potential solutions, along with cuts to spending on the proposed high-speed rail and homelessness.

A recent report from the Legislative Analyst’s Office said the state budget was “roughly balanced,” but anticipated a $2 billion deficit in the next fiscal year, calling into question whether the state could afford extra spending, like the litigation fund.

Newsom’s office said in response that previous litigation with the Trump administration reaped “tangible financial benefits.”

Lawmakers are expected to approve legislation creating the litigation fund before Jan. 20, when Trump is sworn into office.

For his part, Wiener said he looked forward to working with lawmakers and the governor’s office on addressing affordability by creating more housing and slowing rate increases from utility companies like PG&E.

“We as a state government have a responsibility to make life more sustainable for everyday Californians,” Wiener said. “When people struggle to afford housing, transit, energy and child care, they’re going to understandably and legitimately question whether the status quo is enabling them to survive and thrive.”

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