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With Californias relationship to President Trump growing increasingly strained, Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday met in person with the high-profile attorney taskedwith shaping their strategy for upcoming clashes: former U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric Holder.

The visit marks the first time the Washington, D.C-based Holder has come to the state capital since he and his firm, Covington & Burling, were hired last month as independent counsel for the Legislature in anticipation of legal and policy battles with the new administration.

Holder, along with five lawyers from his firm, met separately with the Senate and Assembly Democratic caucuses. That afternoon, there wasa confab in the governors office with legislative leaders and, via telephone, stateAtty. Gen. Xavier Becerra.

Were here to talk about what are we going to do collectively, the Assembly and the Senate, to do everything within our power, within our own legal means to protect our policies, to protect the values of the people of California, Senate leader Kevin de Len said.I think it's pretty simple and straightforward.

Holder, who led the Department of Justice for sixyears under President Obama, kept his public remarks general in a brief appearance before reporters outside Gov. Jerry Browns office.

I'm here just to assist these gentlemen and the people who they serve with in trying to protect the interests of the people of California, Holder saidas he stood alongside De Len (D-Los Angeles) and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount).

When asked how he would provide such assistance, he simply answered, Well.

The visit comes as Trump has increasingly ratcheted up his rhetoric against California, asserting an unfounded theory of mass voter fraud in the state and threatening to strip the state of federal dollars for its friendly posture toward immigrants in the country illegally.

If we have to, well defund," Trump said in an interview with Fox News Bill OReilly on Sunday. "We give tremendous amounts of money to California. California in many ways is out of control, as you know.

Although Holders hiring came before Trumps inauguration, Rendon said Trumps hostile tone and string of controversial executive actions has since reinforced the need for Californialawmakers to hire outside counsel.

I think it's a better idea now than ever before, he said. "There's probably a wider scope of things that he could help us with. Ialso think a lot of the questions that we perhaps thought were going to be down the road will be in the very immediate future."

Democratic lawmakers were circumspect in describing Holders remarks delivered in the morning to state senatorson a full-day policy retreat, and at lunch for the Assembly caucus at a downtown Sacramento hotel for fear of violating attorney-client privilege.

We talked about Californias positioning, what options we have in front of us and how we can lead the nation in terms of a resistance and what we can do to fight back, Assemblyman Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles)said.

Assemblyman Tom Daly (D-Anaheim) described the mood of the gathering as wary of what Trump's up to.

Legislative Republicans grumbled at not having their own opportunity to meet with Holder. Assembly GOP Leader Chad Mayes (R-Yucca Valley), who previously denounced the hiring as a political stunt, was rebuffed in a request for his caucus to pose questions to Holder, although his staff did decline an offer to meet with other visiting attorneys.

The contract with Covington, which went into effect last week, caps the cost at $25,000 per month for three months. The bill will be split between the Senate and Assemblys operating budgets, and the agreement islimited to a maximum of 40 attorney hours per month.Holder has no immediate plans to return to Sacramento, legislative sources said.

Hiring outside legal help is not unprecedented for the Legislature, but it is uncommon, particularly given the breadth of issues Covington is contracted to consult on, including healthcare, environmental policy and immigration.

The latter has emerged as the top priority for lawmakers and their attorneys in the early weeks of Trumps presidency. Most of Covingtons initial work has been focused on building a strategy around so-called sanctuary cities which limit the use of local law enforcement resources in assisting federal immigration authorities after the president signed an executive order that threatenedto withhold funds from jurisdictions that act to protect those in the country illegally.

In Sacramento, lawmakers responded by fast-tracking legislation that would ramp up immigrant protections, including a bill by De Len that would prohibit state or local policefrom engaging in immigration enforcement, effectively makingCalifornia a sanctuary state. The bill was introduced less than a month after Trumps victory andbefore Holders firm was hired, but Covington attorneys have recently consulted on the measure as it speeds through the Legislature.

Other California officials have taken different approaches in the wake of Trumps order. The city of San Francisco promptly sued Trumps administration, asserting thatthe order violates states rights provisions in the U.S. Constitution. Santa Clara County also filed a lawsuit.

Becerra, Californias top lawyer, also left the door open for legal action.

We will fight anyone who wants to take away dollars that we have earned and are qualified for simply because we are unwilling to violate the Constitution under these defective executive orders,Becerra said this week.

The focus now turns to harmonizing the various reactions to the sanctuary city order. To do that, De Len has been reaching out to city and county leaders, along with Brown and Becerra,to create a unifiedstatewide response to Trumps action.

Becerra, who was in Bakersfield on Tuesday tomeetwith his Central Valley staff,farmers and farm workers, participated by telephone in Holders meeting with the governor and legislative leaders.

Participants in that afternoon meeting discussed the swirl of legal activity around another controversial executive order by Trump that restricted travel from residents of seven predominantly Muslimcountries. The travelban was stayedunder a court order, andjudges from the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Tuesday afternoon on whether to extend that stay.

Conversation also touched on the need to ensure thatall parties the governor, attorney general and legislative leaders are on the same page as Californias policy battlewith Trump progresses.

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Former U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric Holder visits Sacramento to ...