[29] And on December 23, 2011, he was appointed to serve on a bi-cameral conference committee to find bi-partisan solutions on middle-class tax cuts, unemployment insurance, and the Medicare physician payment rate.

The 2012 bill also would have required health care providers to report known or suspected violations to law enforcement, including suspicions about a woman's motives for seeking an abortion.

[36][37] Becerra argued before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that the Little Sisters of the Poor, a Catholic religious order, should be required to provide birth control services under the Affordable Care Act.

During the presidential transition of Joe Biden in 2020, it was reported that Becerra was being considered for the Cabinet positions of secretary of homeland security and attorney general.

[48][49][50] Early December reports that Biden planned to nominate Becerra as Secretary of Health and Human Services rendered such speculation moot.

In February 2024, Politico reported that Becerra was considering a run for governor, and that he or affiliated individuals had approached a political consulting firm to that effect, a potential violation of the Hatch Act.

[60] Notably, he successfully defended significant national policies such as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) before the United States Supreme Court.

Among other legal actions, it opposed the effort to expand San Bernardino International Airport due to concerns regarding air pollution, intervened to halt a proposed waterfront cement plant in Vallejo, citing significant concerns over increased air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and supported the City of Arvin's oil and gas ordinance, endorsing a 300-foot buffer for homes, schools, and hospitals, and confirming that such local ordinances are not preempted by state law.

By focusing on disparities such as the prevalence of polluting facilities near low-income neighborhoods and communities of color, the bureau's work has significantly addressed environmental justice concerns.

[70][71] On July 31, 2019, Becerra achieved a significant legal victory when a Superior Court issued a preliminary injunction to stop Westlands Water District's involvement in a project to raise the Shasta Dam.

Federal studies revealed that raising the dam would expand the inundation of the river by 39%, adversely affecting its fisheries, habitats, and submerging sacred sites of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe.

This action was in response to over 12 million gallons of untreated wastewater from the Tijuana River Watershed flowing into California, violating the Clean Water Act.

[75] In October 2020, Becerra achieved a significant legal victory in protecting the Redwood City Salt Ponds, vital to the San Francisco Bay's ecosystem.

[78][79][80] On June 4, 2019, Becerra announced the arrest of Naasón Joaquín García, the leader of the international religious organization La Luz Del Mundo, along with several co-defendants.

The criminal complaint filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court accused García and his associates, Alondra Ocampo, Azalea Rangel Melendez (who remains at large), and Susana Medina Oaxaca, of committing 26 felonies in Southern California.

The arrests were part of a collaborative effort involving multiple law enforcement agencies and were initiated by a tip received through the clergy abuse online complaint form of the California Department of Justice.

The Casa Blanca Gangster Crips, known for violent crimes such as murder, assault, and narcotics trafficking, have been a significant concern in the south Riverside community.

In November 2017, efforts focused on members of the Mexican mafia and drug cartels across Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Orange Counties.

This legal action, the product of a collaborative effort between the California Department of Justice, the Ventura County Sheriff's Office, and several other law enforcement partners, asserts that from 2015 to 2019, the defendants committed 13 felonies related to sex trafficking.

The criminal complaint suggests that the accused used Backpage.com for their operations and forcibly coerced individuals into prostitution at various brothel locations, employing tactics like withholding passports and threatening job opportunities to maintain control over their victims.

[88] In 2019, Becerra threatened "legal action" against reporters who had received records of California law enforcement officers who had been convicted of crimes during the past decade.

[90][94][95] In addition to his numerous legal challenges against the Trump administration, a significant aspect of Xavier Becerra's tenure as California Attorney General was his defense of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy before the United States Supreme Court.

In this capacity, he led the legal challenge against efforts to dismantle the ACA, emphasizing the Act's critical importance in providing healthcare to millions of Americans, especially those with pre-existing conditions.

[63][98] In February 2019, Becerra, Governor Gavin Newsom, and 15 other states filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the president's declaration of a national emergency to fund a wall at the southern U.S.

[103][102] Despite the multiple lawsuits against the Trump administration filed with other state attorneys general, Becerra had not joined antitrust efforts against any major tech companies.

Proponents accused Becerra multiple times of writing biased descriptions that violated the law, which requires "a true and impartial statement of the purpose" of measures.

[citation needed] Becerra is credited for his critical efforts to preserve reproductive rights[119] across the country,[120] to expand Medicaid and CHIP postpartum coverage for more than half the states in the nation [121] and slashing disparities in access to public health tools—particularly amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

This landmark initiative aims to reduce prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries by allowing direct price negotiations for high-cost medications.

These medications, including Ozempic, Ibrance, and Vraylar, account for $41 billion in annual Medicare Part D spending and treat conditions such as cancer, diabetes, and asthma.

[125] Becerra has overseen one of the biggest reform efforts of sub-agencies in HHS's history, including at the Food and Drug Administration[126] and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.