Washington, D.C.— Republican lawmakers in Michigan and Wisconsin are making a last-ditch, politically-motivated effort to restrict the authority of newly-elected Democratic Attorneys General in Wisconsin and Michigan. This effort puts the safety of the people of Michigan and Wisconsin at risk and undermines the voice of voters. In North Carolina after Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein was elected, Republicans used similarly disastrous tactics that landed many Republican bills in court, wasting time and taxpayer dollars.

In response to this dangerous trend, the Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA) released the following statement from Executive Director Sean Rankin.

Statement from Sean Rankin, Executive Director of the Democratic Attorneys General Association:

“Republican state legislators are once again playing political games to rig the system against working families. On November 6^th, voters elected Democrats like Attorneys General-elect Josh Kaul in Wisconsin and Dana Nessel in Michigan.  This misguided effort to strip the new statewide leaders of power unbalances the independence of the Office of Attorney General and puts residents in harm’s way.”

“Take for example the Michigan legislation that would bar state agencies from requiring non-profits to disclose information about donors, volunteers, and members, and restrict the AG from investigating fraudulent charities that scam the public. This is a signal to bad actors that Michigan is open to scammers and will not protect its seniors, its middle-class families, and those people who support churches and other groups that do charitable work.”

“Republicans should be working together on the transition with the incoming administrations to ensure the challenges facing Michigan and Wisconsin get addressed. Instead, these corrupt politicians are wasting precious time with self-serving power grabs and political games.”

“We urge the leaders and lawmakers in Michigan and Wisconsin to do the right thing and reject these dangerous bills and protect the independence of the Michigan and Wisconsin OAGs, respectively.”