Government
May 9, 2017
State Legislature's deal with former AG expires and is in limbo
The three-month contract between the state Legislature and former U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder lapsed on Monday, and a spokesman for the leader of the State Assembly confirmed Wednesday that no new deal has been signed at this point.
SACRAMENTO — A three-month contract between the Legislature and former U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder lapsed on Monday, and a spokesman for the leader of the Assembly confirmed Wednesday that no new deal had been signed.
"It has expired, and we are conferring with the Senate about whether to renew the contract," said Kevin Liao, a spokesman for Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood.
The deal was announced with great fanfare on Jan. 4 by Rendon and Senate Pro Tem Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles.
The contract called for the Legislature to pay a $25,000-a-month retainer to Holder and his firm, Washington, D.C.-based Covington & Burling LLP. It ran three months, February through April, and called for Holder and Covington to offer "special counsel" on "three areas of immediate concern": immigration, health care and environmental policy.
The arrangement was explicitly aimed at helping California navigate the President Donald J. Trump administration. The months since have seen Trump active in all three specified areas, signing dozens of executive orders and pushing Congress to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
"Speaker Rendon feels the relationship with Covington has been a valuable one," Liao said on Wednesday. "Mr. Holder and his firm provided meaningful counsel on how California should approach federal action on issues like the Affordable Care Act, EPA regulation and litigation, and 'sanctuary' jurisdictions."
Holder was brought on after current California Attorney General Xavier Becerra was nominated by Gov. Jerry Brown, but before his Jan. 23 confirmation. Critics of the deal — largely but not exclusively Republicans — questioned the arrangement.
At the time, Becerra called Holder "a friend" and praised his knowledge of the federal government, specifically the U.S. Department of Justice. At a news conference on Wednesday marking his first 100 days in office, Becerra was vague when asked if it was necessary to hire Holder.
"We're prepared to work with whomever is trying to help us continue be a forward-leaning state," Becerra said.
"The attorney general's office has been here for a long time," he said. "I don't know if anyone could hold a candle to the men and women that serve with such dedication here in the California Department of Justice."
Jessica A. Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, said the hiring of Holder "was a strong statement that California wanted to come out early with their legal guns blazing."
"I don't think this indicates [state officals]are going to slow down our fight against federal policy," she said.
Levinson noted the Legislature could potentially consult occasionally with Holder and Covington, and might be granted a similar rate by the firm.
"I think we all have high regard for Eric Holder and his knowledge, skill and experience," said former state Attorney General Bill Lockyer, now counsel on government law and policy at Brown Rudnick LLP in Irvine. "I wondered whether it was a little redundant when you have a state attorney general that is active in similar ways."
Lockyer also praised Becerra's performance in office. The new attorney general has appropriately focused on bread-and-butter concerns like staffing and understanding the immense department, which includes not just attorneys but significant law enforcement and information technology capabilities, Lockyer said.
"It was like I got helicoptered onto the bridge an aircraft carrier and I was trying to figure out what all the buttons and lights mean," Lockyer said of his own early days as attorney general, in 1999.
Representatives from Covington & Burling and de León's office did not return calls seeking comment.
Malcolm Maclachlan
malcolm_maclachlan@dailyjournal.com
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