Democratic lawyers get ready: ‘If Trump wins, there will be chaos’

When Donald Trump issued a ban on travelers from some Muslim-majority countries just a week into his presidency, Democratic attorneys general were caught off guard. They hadn’t expected the policy, long promised by Trump on the campaign trail, to materialize so quickly.

Over the course of a few days, they scrambled to sue to stop the executive order, setting off four years of intense hostility between top Democratic lawyers and a Republican White House.

Now, Democratic attorneys around the country are already gearing up for the possibility of a second Trump administration by beginning to map out an aggressive legal strategy to fight him again in court — this time with a fresh sense of urgency.

Democratic attorneys general are exploring hiring outside experts and dispatching staff to study areas of the law anticipated to come under attack, like reproductive health, immigration and the environment.

They are identifying staff members best equipped to fight assertions of executive privilege — which Trump invoked in his most high-profile controversies — and states best positioned to lead bigger cases.

And they are scrutinizing Project 2025 , the 900-page blueprint from The Heritage Foundation that lays out a conservative agenda for the next Republican presidency.

The early but serious preparations are an acknowledgment that a second Trump presidency would entail these lawyers filing lawsuit after lawsuit against the federal government, to mitigate what they view as a significant threat to democracy and individual rights.

“When you look at the first Trump presidency, you can see the devastating impact some of the policies that were pursued by that administration had on millions of people across our state,” said New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin in an interview. “We need to be prepared for that possibility, even though it may not come to pass, so we’re not caught flat-footed and we’re ready to stand up for the rights of our residents should that be necessary.”

Those precautions involve “preparing for potential legal arguments and building an infrastructure to be ready to go should we need to,” he said.

What’s happening in private conversations inside Democratic attorneys general offices is part of a broader nationwide effort to “Trump-proof” programs and services believed to be targeted by Trump and his allies. Attorneys general will be key to those efforts.

POLITICO interviewed attorneys general, lawyers and other officials in the states as part of an ongoing reporting project focused on state-level efforts to prepare for Trump's possible return to Washington.

Most of their focus is on shoring up existing state constitutional reproductive protections, tightening environmental regulations, and preparing for Election Day misinformation and violence.

“We will fight based on the rule of law, the facts as they are known to us, and make sure that we continue to pursue a pathway of common sense, necessary environmental policies and laws,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta. “Our office is not new to this. We’ve been in this position, in 2016 to 2020. And if necessary, we’ll prepare to fight in the same way again.”

The political upside to suing Trump

Trump has the power to create political stars on the right — but also the left. Some of the lead state government lawyers who made suing Trump a full-time job went on to higher positions of power, like Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.

“Attorneys general often now are looking at the next political step,” said Doug Gansler, former Maryland attorney general. “They make decisions predicated on politics sometimes instead of what they’re statutorily obligated to do.”

When suing the federal government, offices coordinate among themselves to determine which states will steer litigation — a role typically assumed by the largest offices that employ hundreds of lawyers. The group of attorneys general expected to take the lead in countering a hypothetical second Trump presidency includes Bonta in California, Tish James in New York, Kris Mayes in Arizona, Phil Weiser in Colorado and Keith Ellison in Minnesota. The winners of November elections in Oregon and Washington would also join the list.

"One thing that was helpful to us the first time around was that Trump was profoundly incompetent in the execution of many of the policies he tried to put in place,” said a top lawyer for a Democratic attorney general's office who was granted anonymity to speak freely about sensitive preparations for a second Trump administration. “People around him had no idea what they were doing. It's fair to say one fear we all have is the people around him may not make those mistakes again. Frankly, it may be harder to challenge some things he wants to do, even though they may be profoundly immoral or illegal."

A big lesson of Trump’s first tenure is that he follows through on his campaign promises, Gansler said.

“Some of the stuff he talks about now on the campaign trail that’s clearly unconstitutional and counterproductive to democracy and our country, are things he truly plans to implement and carry out,” he said.

Setting records suing Trump

Republicans set the precedent for a combative relationship with the federal government during former President Barack Obama’s tenure, most notably when they attacked the constitutionality of his landmark health care law. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, then the attorney general, boasted at the time that a typical workday for him looked like going into the office, suing the federal government, and going home. By the time Obama left office, Republicans had sued him 78 times.

But it was Democrats under Trump who broke that record: During Trump’s presidency, state attorneys general filed more than 160 multistate lawsuits against the federal government, according to research compiled by Paul Nolette, a political science professor at Marquette University. That was approximately the same number of multistate lawsuits filed against former President Barack Obama and George W. Bush combined.

“We’re in a situation where AGs are primed and ready to go, and are much more proactive in challenging [the federal government],” Nolette said.

The shuffling of staff resources also involves mapping out how to expand departments dealing with appellate and regulatory work in anticipation of the lengthy appeals process involved with challenging the president.

Lawyers are also examining situations where they expect to need to argue that they have standing to sue — a major legal question that determines whether cases can move forward. That was critical during some of the most-high profile lawsuits against Trump, like when states sued to compel Trump to sell off his businesses and his Justice Department argued they had no right to even bring the suit.

The rank-and-file in AGs’ offices are mostly preoccupied with pursuing state-specific concerns like enforcing consumer protection laws. But the small team of senior lawyers surrounding the attorney general are the ones helping call the political shots — and veterans say those hiring decisions are most important.

“If you’re an AG you have to make sure your team is solid,” said James Tierney, the former attorney general of Maine.

“If Trump wins, there will be chaos,” he said.