California AG Becerra included in Bloomberg 50 list

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) was included in the second annual Bloomberg 50 list for his frequent legal challenges to Trump administration policies.

The list, published Thursday, includes people with “particularly noteworthy” accomplishments in business, entertainment, finance, politics, technology and science.

Bloomberg included Becerra in their list in part because his office has sued the federal government 45 times on a host of issues, from immigration to the environment.

{mosads}Becerra took the attorney general job after 23 years in Congress, where he was a part of the bipartisan House Gang of Eight, a group that negotiated for years behind closed doors to put together a comprehensive immigration reform package.

He’s used his immigration policy experience to lead other Democratic state attorneys general in the charge to challenge the Trump administration’s policies, including over migrant family separations, the end to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, and the inclusion of a citizenship question in the 2020 census.

But Bloomberg also noted his efforts on other issues, notably attempting to prevent the administration from relaxing auto emissions standards.

“Becerra will soon help California set a record for the number of times a state has sued one administration, surpassing the previous mark held by Texas, which took a relatively leisurely eight years to sue Barack Obama 48 times—three suits more than California has racked up in the past two years,” wrote the Bloomberg editorial staff.

Becerra said he’s “honored to be included by Bloomberg Businessweek.”

“In California, we don’t wake up looking to pick a fight with the administration but when our people, values and resources are threatened, we’re ready,” said Becerra.

That’s a thinly veiled reference to Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s record of suing the Obama administration — as noted by Bloomberg — while serving as the state’s attorney general.

“I wake up in the morning, I go to work, I sue Barack Obama and then I go home,” Abbott said to audiences at stump speeches in his 2014 campaign for governor.

Still, Becerra is on track to surpass Abbott’s 48 lawsuits against one administration. California has so far filed 45 suits against the Trump administration, of which 32 remain active.

Becerra retired from Congress as the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, making him the highest-ever ranking Hispanic member of the House.

As of January, he will become the second-ever highest ranking Hispanic in the House, when Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) takes over as assistant majority leader.

Becerra was appointed attorney general in 2017, after Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) stepped down from the job to run for former Sen. Barbara Boxer’s vacated seat. He won reelection to the seat in 2018.