DAGA Download – December 11
December 11, 2020
MULTISTATE MOMENTS
SAVING DEMOCRACY (AGAIN)
Texas AG Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit — with 18 Republican AGs filing an amicus brief in support of — seeking to overturn the results of the election in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Current Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) Chair Georgia AG Chris Carr’s office pushed back saying, “With all due respect, Texas Attorney General is constitutionally, legally and factually wrong about Georgia.” Democratic Attorneys General Dana Nessel (MI), Josh Shapiro (PA), and Josh Kaul (WI) issued a joint statement saying, “These insignificant attempts to disregard the will of the people in our three states mislead the public and tear at the fabric of our Constitution. The people in our states voted.” DAGA Co-Chairs Massachusetts AG Maura Healey and Nevada AG Aaron Ford issued a statement saying, “Ken Paxton continues to do disservice to the critical work we do as state Attorneys General. This latest lawsuit filed by the Texas Attorney General, which seeks to undermine the will of voters in states that are not Texas and that will have absolutely no impact on the outcome of the election, is meritless and desperate.”
BONUS: 23 Attorneys General, led by NAAG President District of Columbia AG Karl Racine, filed an amicus brief opposing the Texas lawsuit. AG Racine said, “We are confident the Court will reject this baseless effort to undermine the election, and reassert the will of the voters.”
AG SPOTLIGHT
California AG Xavier Becerra was nominated this week by President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris to serve as Secretary of Health and Human Services for the incoming Biden-Harris Administration. When confirmed, AG Becerra will be the first Latino HHS Secretary. While in Congress, Becerra served as Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, providing essential leadership in drafting and passing the Affordable Care Act. During his tenure as California Attorney General, Becerra led the Democratic Attorney General coalition in defending the Affordable Care Act and preserving health care for millions of Americans, including those with pre-existing conditions, from the Republican Attorneys General and the Trump Administration ACA repeal lawsuit. DAGA Co-Chairs Massachusetts AG Maura Healey and Nevada AG Aaron Ford said, “We are so proud of our colleague Xavier Becerra for being selected to lead the Department of Health and Human Services in the incoming Biden-Harris Administration. He has dedicated his career to protecting the people of California, both in the House of Representatives and now as California Attorney General. He will now bring that essential mix of federal experience and state leadership to HHS, where he will play a crucial role in shaping our country’s path forward to confront the COVID crisis and protect and expand access to affordable health care.” Read the full statement here.
TWEET OF THE WEEK
VIDEOS OF THE WEEK
District of Columbia AG Karl Racine joined CNN’s Anderson Cooper to talk about holding the Trump family accountable. “We have found evidence that the Trump Hotel charged the inaugural committee $175,000 for event space that they charged another not for profit organization $5000 for…[it’s] taking advantage of the public to line their own pockets.”
Maryland AG Brian Frosh joined NBC’s Mehdi Hasan to talk about the nonsensical lawsuit brought by indicted Texas AG Ken Paxton, saying, “Donald Trump lost this election. It’s unquestionable…It’s the grossest attempt at a coup in American history, I think.”
Michigan AG Dana Nessel joined MSNBC’s Chris Hayes to talk about the frivolous lawsuit filed by indicted Texas AG Ken Paxton saying, “You know who voted for you in Michigan, General Paxton? No one. Literally no one. So, stay in your lane, and stick to trying to disenfranchise voters in your own state. Don’t come to mine.”
Pennsylvania AG Josh Shapiro joined CNN’s Chris Cuomo to talk about the absurd lawsuit filed by indicted Texas AG Ken Paxton saying, “This suit that was filed by my colleague from Texas is uniquely unserious. It is based on bizarro conspiracy theories. It is based on issues that have been litigated and dismissed.”
