New Sen. Adam Schiff vows to defend democracy

Pledging to take on the affordable housing crisis and bring down health care costs, Adam Schiff was sworn in Monday by Vice President Kamala Harris as California’s junior U.S. senator.

The Burbank Democrat will serve out the remaining term of the late Dianne Feinstein after winning a special election for the unexpired term. In January, Schiff’s full six-year tenure will begin.

In a statement after taking the oath of office on the Senate floor, Schiff didn’t name President-elect Donald Trump, but the new senator is in the same political balancing act as Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has pledged an “open hand, not a closed fist” approach to the incoming administration. 

• Schiff, in the statement: “I will work with Democrats, Republicans, and Independents to help our state and our families succeed. At the same time, I will not shrink from my duty to defend our democracy and will vigorously protect the rights and freedoms of the American people and the people of California.”

Schiff, who served 23 years in the House, rose to national prominence as one of Trump’s most outspoken critics, leading the first impeachment trial in 2020 and serving on the committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots by Trump’s supporters. 

Trump has labeled Schiff an “enemy within” and a “sleazebag.” And just Sunday, Trump repeated his threat to punish his political adversaries, saying of those on the Jan. 6 committee: “Honestly, they should go to jail.”

Schiff, however, said he does not want a preemptive pardon from President Joe Biden in case Trump follows through, calling it “unnecessary.”

Schiff’s first opportunity to push back on Trump could be confirmation hearings on the president-elect’s contentious Cabinet picks, though the Senate won’t vote on them until after the Jan. 20 inauguration. 

Trump announced Monday that he has nominated Harmeet Dhillon, a California Republican leader and conservative attorney, as assistant attorney general for civil rights. Trump praised her for representing Christians restricted from gathering during the COVID lockdowns, suing companies for “woke” policies and fighting election fraud.

Schiff serves alongside U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla — ending California’s 30-year long streak of having at least one female senator. Schiff replaces Laphonza Butler, who was appointed after Feinstein’s death in September 2023 but didn’t seek to keep the seat. He will be succeeded in the House next month by Democrat Laura Friedman, a former Assemblymember and Glendale mayor.

State regulators last year voted to ban the sale of new diesel big rigs by 2036 and require large fleets to convert all their trucks to zero-emission models by 2042. But with about 1.8 million trucks operating in the state, the road toward electric- or hydrogen-powered trucks will be bumpy, reports CalMatters’ Alejandra Reyes-Velarde.

One big question is Trump’s presidency. California needs a waiver from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to enforce its diesel truck ban, but Trump has repeatedly blasted the state’s electric car mandates and tried to revoke its authority to limit car emissions during his first term. 

Trucking companies have strongly opposed the California Air Resources Board’s rule, arguing that zero-emission trucks are expensive and the lack of reliable charging stations make long-haul shipments nearly impossible. 

Until the rules are enforced however, residents living near high-traffic truck routes and ports remain subject to toxic soot and carcinogens emitted by the heavy-duty vehicles.

• Imelda Ulloa, a resident of Wilmington, where trucks drive through on their way to the Port of Los Angeles: “If you blow your nose, black dust will come out. It’s a terrible life living here.” 

Read more about the zero-emission truck mandate in Alejandra’s story.

Speaking of electric vehicles: The Air Resources Board pulled the plug on what would have been a first-in-the-nation initiative to boost electric motorcycle sales by requiring half of all motorcycles sold in California be electric by 2035. The board already postponed voting on the rule from its original Nov. 7 deadline. But last week, it didn’t give a reason why it’s shelving the endeavor for the foreseeable future, reports Politico.

Industry experts and advocates said they suspect that Trump’s opposition to the state’s electric vehicle policies could be a factor. Trump could also nix a federal tax credit on electric vehicles (which prompted Gov. Newsom to propose the revival of a state rebate program if he does).

State lawmakers dealt California’s card room industry a bad hand this year, passing legislation that allows its competitor, tribal casinos, to sue card rooms. As payback, card rooms spent millions of dollars to oppose four lawmakers who were key to the law’s passage — and three lost their races.

As CalMatters Digital Democracy reporter Ryan Sabalow explains, card rooms spent more than $3 million targeting four legislators:

• Josh Newman of Fullerton, who lost his Senate seat;
• Evan Low of Cupertino, who lost a race for Congress;
• Brian Maienschein, who unsuccessfully ran for San Diego city attorney;
• Republican Assemblymember Laurie Davies of Oceanside, who won reelection by only 3,870 votes (out of a total of 230,546 votes). 

The defeat of Newman, who introduced the card room bill, is notable given that he was an incumbent Democrat who lost to a Republican, marking the first time since 1980 that a GOP lawmaker flipped a Democratic Senate seat in a presidential election. He was also targeted by a typically Democratic-friendly labor union after he opposed a bill it sponsored. Newman has already formed a campaign committee to run again in 2026.

Learn more about card room campaign spending in Ryan’s story.

California was once a leader in enabling student athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness. CalMatters community college reporter Adam Echelman and video strategy director Robert Meeks have a video segment on Adam’s story on the failure of recent efforts to expand those rights as part of our partnership with PBS SoCal. Watch it here.

SoCalMatters airs at 5:58 p.m. weekdays on PBS SoCal.