Story highlights The looming battle pits America's largest state against the incoming Trump administration

Another option to slow Trump is to file lawsuits to blunt federal action

(CNN) Six weeks after President-elect Donald Trump's election, people still pack California Senate President Pro Tempore Kevin de León's Los Angeles district office.

His constituents of Latino, Korean, and Armenian descent wait in his front office, waiting for a moment to share their fears about Trump with California's most powerful state lawmaker.

"There's a lot of angst and anxiety, and they're looking for answers. What does January 20, 2017, mean?" said de León, California's first Latino elected leader of the state Senate in more than a century.

He's sharing with them the same unwavering message: "We don't want to fight. We're not looking for a fight. But if necessary, we will fight to protect the values of California. Given what I've seen so far with regard to the Cabinet selections, there probably is going to be a fight around the corner very, very soon."

The looming battle pits America's largest and most progressive state against the incoming Trump administration. California is 13% of the US economy, with a GDP bigger than Brazil, growing faster than the economies of Japan, Germany or the UK. The state, which is 40% Latino, voted in more Democrats to the state legislature (where it holds a two-thirds majority in both houses) and is growing more progressive on issues such as the environment, minimum wage, gay rights and immigration.

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