Democratic AGs File 100th Lawsuit Against Trump

This week, Democratic attorneys general filed their 100th lawsuit against the Trump administration, part of a coordinated legal strategy.

Attorneys general say they are winning most of the lawsuits against the administration. Of the 67 cases in which court decisions were made, Ddemocratic Association of Attorneys General says its members won 55 of these challenges.

The environmental regulation legal challenge filed this week is the latest attempt by AGs to push back against the ever-increasing power of the executive branch. Since the president’s second term began last January, Democratic-led states have been suing the administration on issues ranging from withholding funds approved by Congress to immigration enforcement to administrative tariffs on foreign goods.

In filing its 100th lawsuit, the Democratic Attorneys General Association said its members are the only group of elected leaders who are effectively opposing the Trump administration’s “harmful and reckless actions.”

“Trump has trampled on the rule of law for too long,” Sean Rankin, president of the association, said in a press release. “And Democratic AGs held him accountable for the damage he has done to our economy and our democracy.”

A group of state and local governments filed a lawsuit Tuesday lifting of limits by the administration on emissions from coal and oil power plants. The coalition argued that the recall was unlawful, saying the federal government failed to provide a reasonable basis for it or take modern technologies into account. The Trump administration said the move was intended to “provide American families with reliable, affordable energy.”

While it’s not unusual for states to sue the federal government, it’s one of the few avenues Democrats can take to oppose President Donald Trump’s actions while Republicans control the White House and both houses of Congress.

Oregon’s Democratic Party attorney general, Dan Rayfield, has been one of the most prolific, suing the administration more than 50 times. Rayfield said the suits aren’t political theater – they’re an significant way to check whether the president has overstepped.

“People should be shocked that Oregon filed 55 lawsuits,” he said he told Stateline earlier this year. “Their mind should be amazed. But their mind should be equally amazed at how often we win these cases.”

The state’s lawsuits are a sampling of more than 700 lawsuits the Trump administration has faced since last January, according to the state report. Following the New York Times. In more than 400 cases, courts have allowed administration rules to remain in force even while they are the subject of ongoing litigation. But in more than 150 cases, the tracker shows that courts have at least partially halted administrative policy.

Stateline reporter Kevin Hardy can be reached at: khardy@stateline.org.