• In response to the California Senate’s passage of the 2026-27 budget, Sen. Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara) issued a statement on June 15. “The California State Senate remains committed to our communities, which is why this budget prioritizes the needs of Californians. This Senate vote brings us one step closer to protecting health care, child care, and the long-term fiscal health of the state,” stated the Senate president pro tempore, who thanked Sen. John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) for his work as budget chair as well as other budget subcommittee chairs. Laird described the budget as working toward mitigating federal cuts to hospitals, food banks, and other state resources. “California can’t replace every federal dollar that may be cut to medical care, food support, and public education. But within our state’s limited resources, we can make responsible choices,” Laird said in a June 15 statement. “In a time of growing uncertainty, it protects Californians today while putting the state on stronger fiscal footing for the future.”
• On June 18, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) was among the eight legislators who introduced the Protect Our Polls Act. Padilla’s office described the legislation as aiming to protect the integrity of American elections from federal interference by armed military or federal law enforcement. “No American should have to pass a line of federal troops, ICE agents, or armed officers to exercise that right. The Protect Our Polls Act will make sure they never have to,” Padilla said in a statement. “The right to vote is the foundation of our democracy.” While strengthening an existing federal law that restricts the deployment of military forces and armed federal agents to polling places, the Protect Our Polls Act closes “any potential loophole” the Trump administration might try to create by requiring Congress to pass a joint resolution of approval before President Donald Trump can send troops or federal law enforcement to election sites, according to Padilla’s office. The legislation also requires the president to provide Congress with intelligence, legal justification, and evidence that a state or local government cannot handle a threat on their own at least 48 hours before deploying forces. Padilla’s fellow legislators behind the Protect Our Polls Act are U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin), Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona), Mark Kelly (D-Arizona), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota), Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada), Raphael Warnock (D-Georgia), and Elissa Slotkin (D-Michigan). “From 2016 until just last week, President Trump has worked to sow doubt in our election results, and I am glad to be joined by senators from across the country,” Slotkin stated.
• U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-California) recently introduced legislation that would prohibit anyone convicted of offenses related to the Jan. 6 insurrection or interference in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections from receiving payouts funded by taxpayer dollars. Known as the Preventing Payouts for Insurrectionists Act, the legislation follows the president’s “comments this weekend refusing to rule out a so-called ‘anti-weaponization fund’ to allow the government to pay out the president’s allies,” a June 9 press release from Schiff’s office said. “President Donald Trump still wants to pay off violent insurrectionists who attacked police officers on Jan. 6, despite claims from members of his administration that say otherwise. Our taxpayer dollars should not be used to pay out criminals, and we can pass a law right now to prevent this president or any future administration from paying off their friends and political allies,” Schiff said in the release.
This article appears in June 25 – July 2, 2026.
