California has posed itself as an avid resistor of Donald Trump’s presidency. It only makes sense its attorney general, the state’s litigator in chief, would echo this sentiment.
And Xavier Becerra most definitely does.
Becerra is the incumbent attorney general of California, having served since 2017 after Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) left the position to become a U.S. senator representing the state. Before that, he served as a Democratic member of the U.S. House representing California’s 34th Congressional District.
His extensive experience representing California has proven he stands for defending the state’s values.
Becerra’s record ranges from defending issues on immigration right and the environment to access to education. He has filed more than 40 lawsuits against the Trump administration, some of which have included Trump’s Muslim travel ban, the decision that transgender individuals not be permitted to serve in the military and attempts to take down former President Barack Obama’s health care law.
The incumbent attorney general has also shown support for higher education, filing lawsuits against the U.S. Department of Education for not helping students gain forgiveness for loans they took out from fraudulent universities, to ensure for-profit schools better prepare students for the workforce, and to challenge the department’s alleged failure to address debt-relief claims for federal loans taken out from for-profit universities.
Some might argue Becerra has politicized the office of attorney general by taking these stances. But as the state’s chief law enforcement officer, Becerra’s decisions have shown he is willing to defend California laws, even if that process might be a contentious one.
That kind of confidence to uphold the state’s values and visions is what the office of attorney general requires. Becerra only continues to prove he has that.