California Senate leader Kevin de Leon calls Donald Trump a soulless president during Santa Rosa speech

Kevin de León, the California state Senate leader, issued a provocative rebuke of President Donald Trump’s administration during a speech Friday in Santa Rosa, telling Sonoma County leaders the current direction of the White House runs counter to the state’s core values and describing Trump as having “no soul.”

De León, a Los Angeles Democrat who recently launched a campaign to unseat veteran lawmaker Dianne Feinstein from the U.S. Senate, positioned himself as a champion of immigrant rights, the environment and other progressive issues he believes are under attack by Trump’s presidency. He told the crowd gathered for a luncheon hosted by Los Cien, a local Latino leadership group, the state was standing firm against those threats.

“This is a very trying time where our soul is being tested against a man who has no soul,” de León said toward the end of his speech in a crowded Flamingo hotel ballroom. “Let me be very clear: California will always stand up for you, because that’s a principle bigger than partisanship and more powerful than any president. And history shows that America’s darkest hours reveal our finest moments.”

During the speech, de León did not ever mention his primary opponent, Feinstein, who has held the U.S. Senate seat he seeks for nearly 25 years. He said afterward the speech wasn’t a campaign event; he attended with a group of North Coast state legislators to honor Los Cien at its 100th luncheon and deliver the keynote address.

Yet national issues were a common theme for de León as he came out swinging against the Trump White House, accusing the administration of acting cruelly toward disadvantaged groups and frequently promoting “racist fear-mongering,” particularly on immigration policy.

De León has taken an unrelentingly oppositional stance toward Trump since the 2016 election, perhaps most notably through a landmark immigration bill he spearheaded. The legislation, Senate Bill 54, further limits how state and local law enforcement agencies cooperate with federal immigration officials and has been called a “sanctuary state” measure, though de León said Friday that term was a “false characterization.”

Rather, de León said his bill prohibits law enforcement authorities in the state from arresting people over civil immigration violations and ensures local public safety officers aren’t commandeered for mass deportations.

Friday’s speech came as de León faces scrutiny while an unfolding sexual misconduct scandal rocks Sacramento. Numerous female lawmakers, legislative workers and others last month released an open letter calling out sexual harassment in the state Capitol and multiple women have accused Democratic state Sen. Tony Mendoza, in particular, of misconduct. Until recently, de León shared a house with Mendoza, according to the Sacramento Bee.

In an interview after his Santa Rosa speech, de León said he “wasn’t aware, obviously” of the allegations against Mendoza. The allegations include claims Mendoza invited a young woman who worked in his office back to his home and that he allegedly brought a 19-year-old intern to his hotel suite where they drank from a mini-bar during the 2008 state Democratic Party convention, the Bee reported.

“I think that there will be an investigation of that process,” de León told the Press Democrat of the allegations against Mendoza. “It’s very important that we create an environment that is safe for all employees in the state Capitol, whether it’s the Senate, whether it’s the Assembly or whether it’s the executive branch. I truly believe that we have to work harder and we have to do better.”

De León’s office previously announced an outside law firm would begin to handle sexual harassment investigations in the state Senate, and he ?pointed to that step Friday as a sign the Legislature was addressing the issue. Later Friday, he issued a statement calling to remove Mendoza from leadership positions while an outside investigation into the misconduct claims proceeds.

De León previously visited the region amid last month’s devastating North Bay fires, the most destructive in state history. He said in his speech the visit “had a real impact” on him, and that he still has a pair of boots with ashes on them that he refuses to clean as a reminder.

In the interview, he said a series of bills approved this year by the Legislature - including one aimed at accelerating housing construction - should help Sonoma County rebuild the thousands of homes it lost. But he acknowledged those legislative steps were “just the beginning” and said lawmakers would need to do more in future sessions.

Before his speech, de León was introduced by state Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, who called the Senate leader “the hardest-working man in California” who had “led a policy agenda like no other.” McGuire ticked off a list of accomplishments he credited de León’s leadership for, including passage of the immigration measure, raising the minimum wage, securing an equal-pay law and being a staunch leader of protecting the environment.

“As Kevin always says, if Washington, D.C., isn’t gonna tackle climate change, California will,” McGuire said. “He is standing strong with California’s immigrant community as well. ... No matter if Washington, D.C., continues to threaten California, he will never back down when it comes to defending the Golden State’s values.”

Audience member Rafael Rivero, a board member of Vital Immigrant Defense Advocacy and Services, said he was greatly impressed with de León’s remarks.

“It was very uplifting,” Rivero said of the speech. “I was very glad he spoke so eloquently and strategically about our wonderful state. ... I was very happy to be here for this historic moment.”