Democratic attorneys general across the country are preparing their legal defense against the recent Trump administration, preparing to denounce possible violations and even take the president-elect to court if he implements controversial policies.
During his first term he was Attorney General triggered a wave of lawsuits against the Trump administration, which worked to block measures such as his travel ban and family separations at the border. Four years after leaving office, top prosecutors are on high alert as President-elect Trump announces plans for mass deportations and a rollback of environmental regulations.
They join Democratic governors, some of whom are already in the spotlight as possible 2028 candidates, and represent a crucial line of defense for the party as the Republican Party triad takes control of the White House and Congress.
“This time around, not only with the trifecta but also with a more conservative judiciary, the number of places where Democrats can push their policies has shrunk at the federal level,” said Paul Nolette, a political scientist at Marquette University and director of a database on state litigation and the activity as Attorney General.
“Whenever that happens, we’ve seen that the parties actually use the states as a vehicle to advance their own policies. And if the Democrats still have control of states like California, New York, Illinois… the actions of the governors, the actions of state AGs, they can make a difference in national politics not just in their own states, but across the country do,” he said.
The days since Trump’s victory have seen a wave of Democratic attorneys general signaling that they are ready to provide a counterweight to the Republican Party when it takes power in Washington next year.
“I don’t wake up every morning wanting to sue the president of the United States or his administration,” New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin (D) told The Hill.
“If he acts lawfully, we will not challenge it. But if he breaks the law, we will not hesitate to protect our residents,” Platkin said.
Trump said his agenda for day 1 would launch “the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back Biden’s equity orders and “drill, baby, drill.”
“It’s not like the Democrats made this up or anything,” Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, said of the potential dangers posed by a second Trump term. “It comes from the mouth and social media of Trump himself.”
The president-elect has also raised concerns Selection for Cabinet Positionsincluding Trump ally and former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) for U.S. attorney general. Gaetz, who is being investigated by the House Ethics Committee, resigned from Congress after getting the nod.
Platkin blew up the nomination on social platform X as a sign that Trump would “use the DOJ to punish political opponents and undermine the rule of law.”
Attorneys general from coast to coast have been preparing for months for the hotly contested race for the White House, California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) told The Hill. They have been monitoring comments from Trump and his inner circle and closely scrutinizing Project 2025, the conservative Heritage Foundation’s blueprint for a second Trump term.
The preparation is as specific as pre-writing briefings, so officers “just have to cross the T’s, cross the I’s and hit print and file,” Bonta said. According to reports, California alone brought more than a hundred Lawsuits against Trump in his first term.
“What we learned from the first Trump administration is that he can’t help but break the law. It’s part of his brand. It’s part of what he does,” Bonta said.
According to the data, Democratic attorneys general filed more than 130 federal lawsuits against the government during Trump’s first term Nolette’s databaseand bragged about one 83 percent win rate. That was more than twice as many as Republican attorneys general led against the Obama administration, with a victory rate of 63.5 percent. The Republican AGs have so far recorded a victory rate of around 76 percent against President Biden’s government.
The first Trump administration ushered in a “world of increased AG activism,” Nolette said, making the latest generation of state justice officials “much more proactive in preparing for challenges that don’t even exist right now.”
Attorneys general network with each other through the Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA) and also coordinate with their governors, who are also members is preparing to oppose Republican policies.
“Nothing unites Democrats more than Donald Trump,” said James Tierney, a Harvard Law School lecturer, director of StateAG.org and former Democratic attorney general of Maine.
After Trump’s victory, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) called a special session of the state legislature to protect progressive policies and promised that the Golden State was “ready to fight.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), who brought a major lawsuit against Trump in 2022, attached to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) announced that her offices would meet regularly to “coordinate legal actions” and develop responses to the recent administration, a news release said.
In Massachusetts, Gov. Maura Healey (D) — herself a former prosecutor — has promised that her state’s law enforcement agencies would provide “absolutely no” assistance if the Trump administration asked for facilitate with mass deportation plans.
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell (D) said she is wary of threats to reproductive health, gun safety, consumer protection and other issues, telling The Hill she has “real concerns about the president-elect’s position , when it comes to the rule of the law.”
“The role of the Democratic AG is, in my opinion, the most important at this moment,” Campbell said, arguing that she is “at the forefront.”
Several Democratic governors have been in the running to join Vice President Harris’ 2024 presidential bid, and they are also drawing up initial lists of possible contenders for 2028. Some state caucuses may also have higher political ambitions, adding a political subtext to their public defense of their party ideals.
“The venerable joke, of course, is that AGs are ‘aspiring governors.’ And I think at this point we’ve certainly seen ample evidence that AGs have used their roles to become good candidates for higher office,” Nolette said.
Harris himself is a prime example: She served as California AG before moving to the Senate and then to the vice presidency. During the 2024 election campaign, she praised her work in this role.
Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson (D) won his gubernatorial bid on election day. He told reporters Following the results, his office feels “ready to defend progressive policies in his state” as both the White House and his seat change hands.
And that defense doesn’t always look like a lawsuit, experts noted. Attorneys general often write letters to members of Congress, participate in the promulgation and comment phase of rules, and comment on specific policies.
“The wise attorney general understands that they are more than just a litigation machine,” Tierney said.
DAGA President Sean Rankin told The Hill that prosecutors will continue their courtroom work during a second Trump term, but will also work to do a “better job” of explaining the work of attorneys general to the public.
Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach (right), chairman of the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA), argued in a statement to The Hill that Democratic attorneys are “making an empty gesture” in their reactions to Trump’s victory “Regulation.” Oversizing has been a hallmark of the Biden administration.”
“Unlike President Biden, who has lost dozens of times to Republican AGs for enacting illegal and unconstitutional rules and regulations, President Trump will focus on reducing excessive abuses,” Kobach said.
A Trump White House 2.0. will also likely take a “more sophisticated approach” to both reversing Biden-era regulations and advancing their own policies, Nolette said. And Democrats face recent hurdles in the increasingly conservative court system – including at the US Supreme Court level thanks to Trump’s appointments.
“It’s like the filibuster in the Senate. Both sides use it when it is to their advantage. Republicans have had their share of legal battles against the Biden administration over the last four years, and there’s more to come. “That’s why this isn’t exactly about Trump,” Nolette said of using litigation to fight the government.
“The general counsels of both parties, I think, have recognized that this is a very good strategy to delay and stop action that they don’t agree with,” he said. “This is part of the process that is now entrenched.”
