DAGA Download – February 12
February 12, 2021
ON THE TRAIL
VA ENDORSEMENT CORNER
Virginia AG Mark Herring continued to receive support for this re-election campaign. Virginia State Senator Louise Lucas announced her endorsement of AG Herring in a video. In the video, Senator Lucas said “There’s been no one that I’ve known in my time in the Senate of Virginia since 1992, that there’s been anybody better than Mark Herring. I mean that, too.” Watch the full video below:
MULTISTATE MOMENTS
BATTLE FOR THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT
The Biden administration urged the U.S. Supreme court to uphold the Affordable Care Act, reversing the Trump administration’s support for striking down the landmark health care law. Democratic Attorneys General have been the last line of defense for the ACA in court against Republican Attorneys General and the Trump administration since 2018. Democratic AGs–led by California AG Xavier Becerra–presented oral arguments in front of the U.S. Supreme Court just a week after the 2020 Election. For more on the Dem AG fight to protect health care for millions, check out the note here.
ENFORCING DEMOCRACY’s GUARDRAILS
District of Columbia AG Karl Racine and Maryland AG Brian Frosh penned an op-ed focusing on the importance of preventing presidential corruption. AG Racine and AG Frosh discussed their 2018 victory in a Maryland federal district court which ruled that the Constitution forbids the president from receiving anything of value from a foreign or domestic government. While AG Racine and AG Frosh view their historic Emoluments case against Trump as critical to preventing corruption in the future, they also point out that “this work is far from over.” They shared their support of the “For the People Act of 2021” which they say “builds additional, automatic anti-corruption safeguards into the White House.”
ACCESS FOR ALL
Connecticut AG William Tong joined a coalition of 17 Democratic Attorneys General in asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to protect access to Lifeline, an affordable communications service for low-income consumers that is offered by different telecom companies. The coalition is being led by Virginia AG Mark Herring who stated that “[a]ccess to cell phones is fundamental to our modern society and even our economy where so much is done virtually and programs like Lifeline ensure that millions of low-income Americans have access to this technology. It is so important for the FCC to make sure that this essential program is protected in any potential telecom mergers or acquisitions that may occur.”
GUN VIOLENCE AWARENESS
Democratic Attorneys General marked National Gun Violence Survivors Week earlier this month by honoring survivors and their powerful work to keep communities safe.
AG SPOTLIGHT
CIVIL RIGHTS FOR ALL
Virginia AG Mark Herring wrote an op-ed with Virginia House Majority Leader Delegate Charniele Herring. In the op-ed, AG Herring outlines the disproportionate rates of arrests and convictions among Black and Brown Virginians compared to their White counterparts. He also pushes for reform to Virginia’s expungement laws which he calls “some of the most restrictive in the country.” The piece details the need for support for automatic expungement during the 2021 legislative session and shares that it will be “one of the several meaningful changes to our criminal justice system that we hope to see happen during this year’s legislative session.”
STANDING UP FOR CLIMATE CHANGE
Minnesota AG Keith Ellison wrote an op-ed in which he denounced corporate special interests that have “caused near-irreparable harm to our climate and our future.” He outlined his office’s actions to protect Minnesotans from fraud, deception and abuse, COVID-19, and environmental degradation. AG Ellison specifically highlighted his consumer-protection lawsuit against ExxonMobil, Koch Industries, and the American Petroleum Institute for misleading Minnesotans about the real cause of climate change. AG Ellison continues to stand up for climate change and against corporate special interests.
TWEETS OF THE WEEK
One simple question led to a battle royal amongst our Democratic Attorneys General this week. On National Pizza Day, DAGA asked who has the all the time-best pizza, New York or Chicago? Our Dem AGs made sure to chime in:
