California’s Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Sunday touted the state as the nation’s “economic engine,” saying the United States needs California as much as it needs America.
In remarks to “Fox News Sunday” about the Calexit ballot initiative that calls for California to secede from the United States, the Democrat said he understands the rancor behind the movement.
“We all get to express ourselves, and certain people in California who are frustrated with this administration constantly taking digs and hurting California,” he said.
"California is the economic engine of the United States of America, we on our own, as a state could be the sixth economic power in the world," he added.
"The U.S. needs California as much as I believe California needs to be part of the United States."
Becerra said he’d “do everything we can to be the leading force for this country rather than be out of it.”
“I think we can continue to be the leader in it,” he asserted.
Becerra also defended the state’s lawsuit against a promised end to the Deferred Action on Chilhood Arrivals program that protects young illegal immigrants brought to the country as children.
“If the Trump administration weren't putting people's lives at risk, their ability to continue to go to school, to work, to provide for their family, then perhaps we could wait,” he said. “But Donald Trump didn't wait. He decided to repeal the DACA program all together and now, we have to act because we can't afford to put people in this kind of limbo.”
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.