‘We were ready’: Democratic attorneys general lead fight to stop Trump – US politics – The Guardian

‘We were ready’: Democratic attorneys general lead fight to stop Trump

As some elected leaders choose to play nice with the president, Democratic AGs have done the opposite – to impressive effect

By Rachel Leingang, Sat 7 Mar 2026 07.00 EST

Four Democratic attorneys general, sitting in their offices from New York to California with state flags and books behind them, announced a new lawsuit on Thursday, alleging the president, yet again, had broken the law by attempting to create new tariffs without congressional approval.

It’s a now familiar scene for the group of top law-enforcement officials who have collectively filed more than 50 lawsuits against the Trump administration, serving as a counterweight to the president’s quest to expand his power and circumvent the constitution.

They’ve protected billions of dollars for their states. They’ve stopped or stalled policies that would have cut food benefits during a government shutdown, closed health programs and job training, curtailed funds for crime victims, ended birthright citizenship, cut off funds for schools, and kept illegal tariffs in place.

At a time when some institutions and elected leaders have chosen to play nice with the Trump administration, the 23 Democratic attorneys general have done the opposite.

“We know the most impactful elected position right now is the Democratic AG,” said Andrea Campbell, the attorney general of Massachusetts.

Their lawsuits have a high success rate: about 80% have gotten a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction, Arizona attorney general Kris Mayes estimated. She has signed on to nearly 40 lawsuits filed by Democratic attorneys general against the administration.

Joint lawsuits by attorneys general aren’t new. Republican attorneys general have banded together on suits against Democratic administrations, and they currently have filed joint briefs to defend Trump policies. Cross-partisan groups of attorneys general often work collaboratively on lawsuits over opioids or predatory businesses.

But the sheer number of lawsuits in the past year-plus from Democratic attorneys general outpaces prior efforts. The scope of their legal work is broad – and growing. Just recently, the actor Mark Ruffalo on social media called on state attorneys general to band together to fight the potential Paramount/Warner Bros merger, and California attorney general Rob Bonta responded that he is “in conversation with” his attorney general colleagues about the issue.

The almost two dozen Democratic attorneys general and their staffs have met regularly since before Trump returned to the White House. Even before Trump won in November 2024, they were preparing for a potential Trump presidency, combing through his comments and Republican plans like Project 2025 to prepare the kinds of lawsuits they expected to file.

When Trump started his second presidency with an executive order that sought to reverse birthright citizenship, disallowing those born in the US by foreign parents from being citizens, the Democratic attorneys general sued him the next day, one group of many that brought suit. The order was blocked by the courts and will be heard by the US supreme court in April.

Part of the group’s success comes from its preparation, but, several attorneys general told the Guardian, they wouldn’t be winning so much if the Trump administration wasn’t blatantly breaking the law.

“I’d like to say that we’re winning these cases because we’re all a bunch of Johnnie Cochrans or Perry Masons or whatever,” Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison said. “But the truth is, what he’s doing is patently illegal, and a 1L law student would know it.”

Source: ‘We were ready’: Democratic attorneys general lead fight to stop Trump | US politics | The Guardian