Democrat leaders in blue states are preparing to launch a massive legal attack on President-elect Donald Trump’s administration, but they fear the Trump team is much more equipped for round two. “I think we are prepared for it to be much more aggressive, much quicker and much harder,” said Connecticut’s far-left attorney general, William Tong, according to Breitbart News.
During Trump’s first term, much of his agenda faced significant obstacles due to a barrage of lawsuits from Democrats and their progressive allies. The administration also struggled with a lack of experience in navigating the mechanics of governance, particularly in drafting executive orders. According to The New York Times, the “sloppy” wording of many directives created opportunities for opponents to exploit legal ambiguities and block Trump’s initiatives.
As Trump prepares for a potential second term, Democrats and progressive organizations are bracing for a more disciplined and strategic approach from his administration. They anticipate that Trump 2.0 will avoid the pitfalls of his first term, making it harder for opponents to dismantle his agenda. Tong, speaking to the Times, expressed concerns that the GOP’s resurgence could present significant challenges and that Trump, having learned from past missteps, is likely to “hit the ground running” this time. Bob Ferguson, Washington State’s attorney general, agreed, and said, “A concern I have is that Donald Trump and his administration may well be better prepared on their end.”
Trump’s party is poised to control all three branches of the federal government, with a solid conservative majority in the U.S. Supreme Court, striking fear into the left’s plans to use legal challenges as a tool to derail his agenda. Despite these hurdles, progressives are preparing to replicate their strategy from Trump’s first term: flooding the courts with lawsuits aimed at stalling his policies and undermining the will of the voters.
Between 2016 and 2020, the state of Washington alone filed 99 lawsuits against Trump’s administration, according to The New York Times. Due to flaws in the drafting of executive orders and directives during his first term, the deep-blue state succeeded in blocking many initiatives, winning 55 of those cases. During Trump’s first term, the legal and political attacks against his administration spurred blue-state attorneys general to form a coordinated network aimed at opposing conservative and Republican policies nationwide.
According to reports, these AGs have held regular monthly meetings since Trump’s first term to strategize and coordinate legal challenges, not only to block Trump’s agenda but also to advance their progressive priorities across the country by leveraging the courts as their primary tool. Trump initially assumed that winning the election granted him control over the agenda and narrative. However, he quickly learned that many of his establishment cabinet picks, coupled with a deeply entrenched administrative state resistant to change, often worked against his efforts.
This “deep state,” as it has been called, used its insider influence to stymie Trump’s plans to implement his vision of making America great again. Heading into a potential second term, Trump appears better prepared. His cabinet selections are reportedly more loyal and experienced in countering far-left opposition. This time, he is unlikely to repeat the mistake of retaining officials accused of serving the interests of the “deep state” rather than carrying out the will of the voters and advancing his administration’s agenda.
