Gov. Gavin Newsom has asked lawmakers to approve $25 million for California's anticipated legal battles with the incoming Trump White House.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom was on good terms with Donald Trump during his first term as president. Now the governor is suiting up for battle.

Newsom is pitching the fund as a way to preemptively protect California’s investments — both in measurable terms like federal disaster grants and more abstract ones like clean air protections — from being undercut by Trump, who’s signaled he will more aggressively combat those who oppose his conservative agenda in his second term.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom appears to be trying to strike a delicate balance between the political brawler that his Democratic base admires and a more measured national leader capable of winning back disenfranchised voters across the country.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has made no secret that he intends to play a big role in the resistance to President-elect Donald Trump, but fiscal hawks in his state are warning that expensive strategies and brash plans could do more harm than good.