THE BUZZ: DELIBERATING ON DEADLINE — Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas delayed a vote on anti-Trump proposals only for them to easily pass days later, unchanged. The episode concluded late Monday afternoon after extensive private discussion over how to proceed amid Republican attacks against legal aid for undocumented immigrants. The lower house’s prolonged deliberation offered the most vivid example to date of Rivas’ willingness to spend days and, in cases, weeks surveying his caucus’ rank-and-file on issues at the expense of acting with the immediacy of his Senate counterpart. Rivas’ approach fulfills a campaign promise he made as he wrested control from former Speaker Anthony Rendon — that he would rule in hyper-Democratic fashion, frequently incorporating input from outside leadership ranks. His decision to break a self-imposed deadline to set aside $50 million for the state and undocumented Californians to fight the Trump administration in court demonstrated his allegiance to that style — even in a new era where Washington is moving with breakneck speed. “There was always gonna be a flurry of executive orders, negative actions that Californians are really gonna be put at risk quickly,” progressive Assemblymember Alex Lee, who advocated for an earlier vote on the legislation, told Playbook. Instead of changing the bill to clarify restrictions on the legal aid funding, Democrats entered a letter into the legislative record stating that it was not their intent for the money to defend immigrants with felony records. They made a rare overture to the GOP on Sunday, inquiring whether Republicans might abstain from introducing hostile amendments if the letter was sent. Republicans did not oblige. “Letters to the journal are not legally binding,” Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher told Playbook before the vote. “The question for the Democrats is: Why won't you amend the bill to just say that?” While providing more time for Republican broadsides, the added time did seem to achieve one thing: calming the nerves of moderates in districts where Trump made gains. “When this bill was put forward, I had real doubts about whether we were responding to a serious threat or simply trying to score some cheap political points, but this new administration has eased any doubt that I that I may have had,” moderate Democratic Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains said before voting for one of the bills. Assembly Budget Committee Chair Jesse Gabriel, a Rivas ally, dismissed the Republican attacks as a distraction and not based on how existing funding for immigration nonprofits is spent. Gabriel told Playbook he was proud of what the Assembly had done. “We delivered a lot,” he said, “and we did it with a deep sense of urgency.” GOOD MORNING. Happy Tuesday. 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? Nothing official announced.
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