ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
The first time Donald Trump was elected, Democrats in California asserted themselves as the frontline of the resistance to his presidency. Now, eight years later, they say they're making an intentional decision to start off calm. From member station KQED in San Francisco, Marisa Lagos reports.
MARISA LAGOS, BYLINE: California's newest U.S. senator, Adam Schiff, made a national name for himself in the years after Trump was first elected. As a congressman, he led the first impeachment trial of then-President Trump. He sat on the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 assault on the Capitol, and he regularly appeared on TV news as a spokesman for a defiant Democratic Party, like on CNN in 2022.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ADAM SCHIFF: I think that the evidence is there that Donald Trump committed criminal offenses in connection with his efforts to overturn the election.
LAGOS: But as he begins his first term as a US senator, Schiff says his focus is on what he can get done for his home state.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
SCHIFF: How can I deliver for the state of California? We have a lot of serious challenges that people talked to me up and down the state as I traveled California during the campaign. My first priority is solving those problems, meeting the needs of Californians.
LAGOS: Schiff isn't alone. As blue state Democrats brace for the president-elect to be sworn in again, even those Trump has named as political enemies, like Schiff and others on the January 6 committee, say they won't be picking a fight, at least not at first. Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, who's represented a California district that include San Jose for three decades, was also a member of the January 6 committee. She says she hopes to continue working in a bipartisan manner and notes that Republicans will likely need Democratic votes in the House.
ZOE LOFGREN: They've got a cadre of very right-wing Republican members who won't vote yes on anything. So they will - assuming they want to pass bills - and that may or may not be a good assumption - they will need Democratic votes. And we will give those votes if we have bills that also meet our priorities.
LAGOS: Schiff says he's already struck up a relationship with Montana's incoming Republican senator, Tim Sheehy. The two met at an orientation for new members, Schiff says, and are talking about where they can work together on wildfire policy.
TIM SHEEHY: You know, what I did in the House and what I'm doing in the Senate is you seek out people, identify areas of common interest and work on plans to address these problems.
LAGOS: House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries is also striking a more restrained tone. He says while Democrats will, quote, "draw a line in the sand" when it comes to issues like protecting abortion access and Social Security, they'll also work hard to find bipartisan common ground. And in a sign of how things have changed since 2016, when Democrats were caught off guard by a Trump victory, Jeffries said earlier this month at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco that staying calm is a game plan for the left.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
HAKEEM JEFFRIES: We can't fall into the trap of being outraged every day by the things that Donald Trump does because I'm convinced that it's part of an intentional strategy to keep us distracted.
LAGOS: Blue state Democrats say they are ready to push back. Lofgren says they'll turn to the courts, for example, if Trump tries to withhold disaster aid, as he did in his first term.
LOFGREN: The Democrats in California are the largest delegation. Democrats alone are bigger than the whole delegation of any other state. And so we have members on every committee. We will have a say in everything that happens.
LAGOS: And state leaders aren't waiting for Trump to act. Back in California, Governor Gavin Newsom already called the legislature into a special session earlier this month to create a $25 million legal fund to fight back in court if needed. Attorney General Rob Bonta says the state will only sue if Trump violates the law.
ROB BONTA: We will only go where Trump's unlawful activities are. If he doesn't do anything unlawful, there's nothing for us to do.
LAGOS: So while Democrats say they aren't looking for a fight, they're also ready for one. For NPR News, I'm Marisa Lagos in San Francisco.
(SOUNDBITE OF ERYKAH BADU SONG, "OTHERSIDE OF THE GAME") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
