DRIVING THE DAY: The death toll of the Los Angeles County fires reached 24 on Sunday. — Gov. Gavin Newsom invited President-elect Donald Trump to meet with residents affected by the wildfires. — So did Los Angeles officials, though they hadn’t connected with the president-elect directly as of Sunday afternoon. — House Republicans and Trump discussed tying wildfire aid to the debt ceiling. — Newsom issued executive orders aimed at speeding debris removal, suspending environmental laws for people rebuilding their homes and giving flexibility to health care and other workers on the scene. — Early estimates indicate the flurry of infernos could be the costliest in U.S. history. They might even be the worst natural disaster to ever strike the country, Newsom said. THE BUZZ: CEASE AND DESIST — California Democrats have reached a $50 million agreement to shore up state and local legal defenses against the incoming Trump administration just a week ahead of the president-elect’s inauguration. The move comes as Republicans bash them for focusing on a special legislative session that began shortly after the election even as the southern part of the state suffers from historically devastating fires. The deal includes $25 million Newsom had proposed for the state Department of Justice to fight the federal government in court — plus $25 million more proposed by state Senate leaders to defend immigrants against deportation, detention and wage theft, Blake and Lindsey Holden first reported on Sunday. “This funding agreement cements California’s readiness to serve as a bulwark against Trump’s extremist agenda,” Senate Budget Committee Chair Scott Wiener said in a statement. The $25 million proposed by the Senate would fund grants for legal nonprofits and immigration support centers. Floor votes could come as soon as this week. That would give Newsom time to sign the deal before Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, and shift focus away from the session’s partisan feud to how Democrats are responding to the unfolding disaster in Los Angeles. Reps for the governor’s office and legislative leaders did not respond to requests for comment as the deal is expected to be announced as early as Monday. Republicans have agitated for a special session focused solely on the fires, and Newsom told Pod Save America over the weekend he is “happy to do whatever moves the needle forward” when asked about calling such a session. He said he and legislative leaders were going to discuss whether that was necessary. Newsom and legislators representing Los Angeles have also been in Southern California since the fires escalated, but that has not neutralized GOP critiques. “At a time when California should be laser focused on responding to the devastating wildfires in LA, Democrat lawmakers’ priority is creating a $50 million slush fund to hire government lawyers for hypothetical fights against the federal government and to defend criminal illegal immigrants from being returned to their home countries,” Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher said in a statement reacting to the special session deal. The provisions of the deal emerged through amendments to four special session bills on Friday. The immigration portions of the package have taken on added urgency as Trump has pledged to carry out mass deportations when he takes office. Even under President Joe Biden, border patrol agents recently conducted what advocates say was the largest enforcement action in the Central Valley in years, the Los Angeles Times reported. “Senate Democrats are particularly proud to provide funding for providers of legal aid services, which know our communities’ needs best and are best positioned to defend at scale the millions of individuals and families that will be impacted by the incoming Administration’s extreme agenda,” Wiener said. ON THE AGENDA: The Assembly’s special session budget panel has scheduled a Tuesday hearing on its bills containing the $50 million. And Attorney General Rob Bonta will sit for an interview today on California’s response to Trump 2.0. GOOD MORNING. Happy Monday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook. You can text us at 916-562-0685 — save it as “CA Playbook” in your contacts. Or drop us a line at dgardiner@politico.com and bjones@politico.com, or on X — @DustinGardiner and @jonesblakej. WHERE’S GAVIN? In Los Angeles, working with local, state and federal fire officials responding to the fires. | 
