Vice President Kamala Harris has done what Hillary Clinton did before her — gracefully and powerfully conceded the presidential election to ensure that our Constitution is upheld in a time of deep political divide. But a concession and transfer of power after the electorate has voted does not mean an acceptance of Donald Trump’s agenda.
Democratic governors and state attorneys general could be the last line of defense when Trump takes power again in January and begins implementing his extremist agenda. States will need to stand up to challenge, delay and derail his party’s plans to further limit abortion rights, gut environmental protections, undermine the Affordable Care Act, and more.
As former chief of staff to California Gov. Gavin Newsom and a longtime adviser to Hillary Clinton, I’ve seen how state attorney generals can affect — and frustrate — national policy through litigation. State attorneys general of both parties have filed hundreds of lawsuits over the last several presidential administrations and won many national injunctions that tie the federal government’s hands. These officials stepped into a void left by congressional gridlock and limitations imposed by the Supreme Court on public interest groups’ ability to sue.
These lawsuits are not just a public relations tactic. Attorneys general succeed more than they fail, and they have prevented presidents of both parties from fully achieving their federal policy agendas. Republican state........