Washington, DC – With Donald Trump’s imminent return to the White House, Democratic Attorneys General across the country have spoken out about their plans to combat the extremist agenda he outlined during his campaign. Democratic AGs will continue to use every tool available to maintain the rule of law, combat unconstitutional actions, and protect our rights and freedoms.

POLITICO’s Lisa Kashinsky and Rachel Bluth wrote on what Democratic AGs are doing to protect the people of their states.

Key highlights:

• “And attorneys general across blue states are prepared to take Trump to court — just as their predecessors did hundreds of times during his first administration…And so Democratic governors andattorneys general who have spent months strategizing on how to protect their states’ progressive policies from a possible second Trump term are kicking those efforts into higher gear.” 
• New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James — one of Trump’s most aggressive first-term adversaries — pledged to beef up coordination between their offices to ‘protect New Yorkers’ fundamental freedoms from any potential threats[…] Hochul and James created the Empire State Freedom Initiative, a program that is meant to address ‘policy and regulatory threats’ from the incoming Trump administration, including against reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights, as well as gun safety and environmental justice.”
• “‘We’ve been talking for months with attorneys general throughout the nation, preparing, planning, strategizing for the possibility of this day,’ California Attorney General Rob Bonta said at a press conference in San Francisco on Thursday[…] If he violates the law, as he has said he would, as Project 2025 says he will, then we are ready.’” 
• “In New Jersey, state Attorney General Matt Platkin cited mass deportations, an ‘aggressive reading of the Comstock Act’ to potentially impose an abortion ban and ‘gutting clean water protection’ as potential sources of litigation. ‘If you look at the things that have been said by the president and his associates during the campaign, … if you read Project 2025, there are proposals that are clearly unlawful and that would undermine the rights of our residents,’ Platkin said in an interview.”
• And in Massachusetts, first-term Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office has been preparing to act against threats to reproductive, LGBTQ+ and immigrants’ rights and student loan-forgiveness programs, among other areas.”

Attorneys General Kris Mayes of Arizona and William Tong of Connecticut both discussed the work to be done as state AGs on MSNBC:

Key highlights:

• “We’re in these fights every single day,” AG Tong said. “We built a firewall in Trump 1.0, that firewall has never come down…we were in the fight to preserve the Affordable Care Act, in the DACA fight. We’re there every single day, protecting the people of our states and people of this country.” 
• “And I want everyone to know that the state AGs, Democratic AGs, have been planning for this possibility for many months now,” AG Mayes said. “You know, Project 2025 has been out there for more than a year… we stand ready to file the lawsuits that will be necessary to stop the unconstitutional and frankly illegal provisions that are in Project 2025…” 
• AG Mayes continued, “We won’t be cowed. We won’t be intimidated, and, you know, we never have. And this is a time for patriots to stand up for our Constitution, for us to remember that millions of Americans fought and sacrificed and died for our Constitution.” 
• “These are real issues to people, and they’re real issues for states, and these are all things and reasons that we will stand up for the rule of law for the states’ rights…,” AG Mayes stated. “The rights of states to protect reproductive rights. And yes, women are afraid. I can’t tell you how many women have come up to me and hugged me or who have been in tears about this and who are fearful.”
• AG Mayes concluded, “You know, we also have DACA recipients, Dreamers who are afraid. I’ll tell you, we are not going to put up with any attempts to undermine our Dreamers in this country and deport Dreamers or eliminate DACA. These are the kinds of lines in the sand that I think that we have to draw going forward.”

Colorado AG Phil Weiser also echoed both AG Mayes and AG Tong in an interview with Joy Reid:

Key highlights: 

• “Lots of people have a different status, they are different circumstances. When you try to act en masse, by definition, you’re not bringing care to what you’re doing. We will, and we have gone to court to stop illegal actions that harmed immigrants. During Trump’s first term, we were successful on many fronts, including protecting the dreamers and we’re prepared to do so again.” 
• “…and what you’re talking about when you’re disrupting families, when you’re disrupting workplaces, when you’re acting indiscriminately is: you are terrorizing people’s lives, you’re tearing families apart, and you’re acting in many cases without regard to the law.” 
• “As for our law enforcement, basically being commandeered by the federal government, that’s not going to happen. In the first Trump administration, we went to court on that very issue and we won. Our law enforcement does not do illegal immigration enforcement. If the Trump administration seeks to enlist us in an effort that’s illegal and that commandeers our resources, we’ll see them in court.”

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