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The old saying is, “California will break off and fall into the ocean." That saying may be coming true, but not the way most people expected. Instead of a massive earthquake, California is going through a massive social-quake and may very well break off and be set adrift.

In an unexpected move, President Trump is signaling he may be ready to cut California loose and let it go ‘adrift.’ In a bold and highly consequential move, President Donald Trump appears poised to make good on a long-simmering threat: cutting California loose from the federal gravy train.

Frustrated with what he calls a “Democratic rebellion” against federal authority, Trump is no longer just criticizing blue-state leaders. He’s taking aim at their budgets, policies, and prejudice against their citizens’ welfare.

The decision, now unfolding through a coordinated review of federal funding, marks a turning point in the relationship between Washington and the nation’s most populous, and often most oppositional, state.

A federal exodus begins in Los Angeles, and a whole state may be set adrift in the sea of self-governance.

The first public sign of this crackdown emerged in Los Angeles. A federal agency, still unnamed for security reasons, is pulling its personnel from the city. The decision came after Mayor Karen Bass was accused of undermining federal immigration enforcement and prioritizing undocumented immigrants over law and order.

According to a Fox Business report, the agency could “no longer ensure the safety and mission integrity” of its personnel in a city that refuses to cooperate with federal mandates. For Trump supporters, it was a vindication: if California won't support federal laws, why should federal agencies operate there at all?

Trump to California: Follow or forfeit, and California just may forfeit federal money but still has to deal with federal authority.

At the national level, Trump’s administration is reviewing a sweeping plan to defund vast swaths of California’s federally supported programs. According to internal memos reported by The Washington Post, officials have been tasked with identifying legal justifications to withdraw funding from areas including transportation, disaster recovery, education, and housing.

“We're not just going to watch states openly defy the law and reward them with billions in federal money,” a senior White House aide said. Another official described the policy as “letting California drift,” a quiet withdrawal rather than an open declaration of war.

The high cost of defiance is coming home to roost. For too long the Democrat progressives, now turned neo-Confederates, have thumbed their noses at law and order, making the US Constitution nothing more than a doormat.

California’s political leaders are already preparing for battle. Governor Gavin Newsom fired back on social media, saying, “Californians pay the bills; we pay over $80 billion more in taxes than we get back.” He and other top Democrats, including Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, have warned the administration that any cuts would face immediate legal challenges.

Some of those lawsuits may already be in motion. A recent federal injunction has blocked attempts to pause certain AmeriCorps grants, signaling that courts may not be willing to rubber-stamp Trump’s funding pullbacks without a fight.

But Trump’s team seems unfazed. “Let them sue,” said one official close to the president. “We’ve got the law and the budget on our side.”

The big question is whether California is having a sanctuary rebellion or turning into a rogue state; either way, it’s not going to end pretty.

At the heart of the conflict, there is a deeper philosophical divide. California has embraced illegal alien sanctuary policies, environmental regulations, and diversity mandates that directly contradict Trump’s federal priorities. From immigration to transgender sports participation to equity grants in education, California has positioned itself as a counter-government run by neo-confederates who defy federal authority and operate in a realm governed by TDS. (Trump Derangement Syndrome)

The Trump administration sees not as federalism but as federal defiance, a “rebellion” dressed in progressive language. As one Trump advisor put it, “If California wants to act like a separate country, maybe it should pay its own way like one.”

Will the Neo-Confederates rise again, but this time not in the Deep South but in sunny Southern California? Though the spotlight is on California, this could set a precedent for other blue states. Maine, New York, and Illinois have all signaled that they, too, will resist Trump’s federal agenda on multiple fronts. If the Trump administration succeeds in withdrawing funds from California without being struck down by the courts, it could unleash a wave of budgetary battles across the country.

In a time of deepening polarization, Trump’s move may be about more than money. It’s about asserting control and drawing hard boundaries around what it means to be a cooperative state in the union.

For now, Trump isn’t breaking ties with California, but he’s tightening the rope. If the Golden State and the neo-Confederates who run it continue to chart their path, the message from Washington is simple: do it without federal dollars, but federal authority will still apply.

The political stage is set. Trump’s defunding strategy is more than fiscal; it’s monumental. In his eyes, California has chosen resistance over respect. Now, they may have to choose independence over federal money, but still be under federal authority.

Final Word: California Democratic Progressives are telling the rest of America, 'Just give us your money; we don't need your stinking laws.'