Why Keith Ellison and other state attorneys general are pushing back on Trump

Donald Trump’s presidency has been a busy time for Democratic attorneys general across the country.  

President Trump started his term with a flurry of executive orders. In response, many state attorneys general, often working together, filed their own barrage of federal lawsuits to put the brakes on what the president is trying to do.  

In January, 22 states and the District of Columbia challenged an executive order to freeze federal funding. In February, attorneys general from three states, including Minnesota, sued to stop a presidential order that would have restricted health care for transgender youth. In April, a dozen states sued to halt many of the tariffs that President Trump imposed without approval from Congress.  

And on Tuesday, California state officials continued to push back on President Trump’s decision to deploy Marines and state National Guard troops to immigration protests in Los Angeles.

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison about why he thinks President Trump is stepping over the legal limits of the constitution. New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin joins them later in the hour.

Guests:

• Keith Ellison has served as Minnesota’s attorney general since January 2019. Before that, he spent 12 years representing Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

• Matthew Platkin was appointed as New Jersey’s attorney general in 2022. He has also worked in private practice and served as chief counsel to New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy.

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Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.