Democrats are deeply divided on how aggressively to push back against President-elect Donald Trump and his allies. While some have taken a conciliatory approach to the upcoming Republican three-way election, others have vowed to use every legal and legislative tool available to them to block their policies.
It’s a moment that people in the resistance camp, many with grander political ambitions, have been preparing for behind the scenes for months.
These preparations were aided by Project 2025, a conservative blueprint that outlined the incoming Republican administration’s policy wish list, from cutting environmental regulations to a nationwide abortion ban.
Blue states, expected to come under attack from the federal government, have launched “Prove Trump” programs and beefed up teams of lawyers to fight the new administration in court.
Now, resistance Democrats, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, have a message for the latest installment of the Trump era.
“That’s what breaking the law is all about.” [Trump] I don’t see a way to stop it — it’s part of his brand, it’s part of what he does,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who plans to run for governor in 2026, said in an interview. “If he doesn’t break the law, there’s nothing we can do and he’ll be a law-abiding president. But we don’t expect that.”
These hostile opposition forces are only a small part of the Democratic Party, as Democratic leaders strategize how to counter President Trump’s re-entry into the White House with full Republican control of Congress. do not have. Some governors are taking a less combative approach, expressing a willingness to cooperate with the president-elect on certain fronts, at least for now.
Here are the pillars of the movement that have come together to undermine Trump and his allies: a collection of Democratic governors, attorneys general, and aligned interests.
governor
It is expected that Mr. Newsom will solidify his position as the leading figure in the Democratic Party’s fight against the federal government. Newsom and Trump are old adversaries, and that rivalry is sure to intensify as Trump returns to the White House and Newsom sets the stage for a possible 2028 presidential bid. .
Mr. Newsom has already begun positioning California as a bulwark against a future Republican trifecta. Two days after the election, he called a special session of the state Legislature to protect California’s efforts likely to be targeted by President Trump, including civil rights protections and climate change policies.
Beyond Newsom, he also noted a newly formed bipartisan group focused on countering the “threat of authoritarianism” launched by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Colorado’s Jared Polis. I want it. Both governors said they are talking with other Democrats and Republicans about joining the effort, which has its own staff and researchers.
“You’re coming for my people, you’re coming through me,” Pritzker warned Trump at a post-election news conference.
Although Polis praised Trump’s provocative pick for Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., he started the group to address the challenges governors will have to face in the coming years under the Trump administration. He talked about the complicated balance adjustments that must be made.
Don’t underestimate newcomers either. Governors who took office after Trump’s first term have also joined the resistance movement, but they have not participated as openly as other governors who have been in office longer.
New York Gov. Cathy Hochul launches program aimed at addressing “policy and regulatory threats” from the Republican administration, working with state attorney general to protect “New Yorkers’ fundamental freedoms” promised to strengthen the But she also called President Trump to plead for federal funding for major projects across the state.
Then there’s Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey. He rose to prominence in his previous role as state attorney general by repeatedly suing the Trump administration, but has largely retreated from the national spotlight since leaving office. After President Trump was elected, she yelled back at MSNBC. Calling to “hold the line once again to the rule of law,” state police vowed not to follow President Trump’s mass deportation plan.
attorney general
Democratic attorneys general were caught off guard when President Trump issued a ban on Muslims traveling to the United States at the beginning of his term. They banded together to file multi-state lawsuits, beginning an era of intense litigation between states and the federal government.
The same office is not going to be surprised again.
“We’ve had a little more time to think about this, but it’s not as novel as it used to be,” Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said. We sued the first Trump administration to withhold law enforcement funding. after the state objected to accompanying immigration-related provisions.
“We’re going to be even more prepared for this job,” Weiser said in an interview. “We know little by little the nature of what is going to happen.”
Look out for potential leaders of the litigation movement: Mr. Bonta in California, Mr. Ellison in Minnesota, Matthew Platkin in New Jersey, and Letitia James in New York. “I never ran for attorney general twice to sue Mr. Trump. That’s not my purpose,” Ellison said at a recent press conference. “But if he violates people’s rights, we’re going to sue. It’s that simple.”
Also of note are new attorneys general from states that have played major roles in previous cases against Trump, including Dan Layfield of Oregon and Nick Brown of Washington.
These firms will likely leverage their large staffs of lawyers to challenge nearly every move by the Trump administration. In the days following the election, some offices made the following announcements: open cast call “The need for the best and brightest lawyers to join our firm has never been greater,” the firm wrote on LinkedIn to expand its pool of litigators.
But while these attorneys general may be accustomed to suing Trump this time around, there are more systemic and political challenges that could make winning in court difficult: facing a more conservative Supreme Court that played a major role in the. The president-elect also has the support of more Republicans in Congress and is likely to use his majorities in both chambers to pass legislation to replace the state law.
interest group
Democratic governors concerned about their own political futures may not want to be the face of President Trump’s fight on all fronts, but interest groups whose sole mission is to do so are engaged in a scorched-earth campaign to thwart the administration. would be happy to do so.
Democracy Forward, a liberal legal group founded during the first Trump administration, intends to continue its work to challenge federal regulations, this time with far more personnel and a multimillion-dollar war chest. There is. Board members include Democratic law mogul Marc Elias and President Joe Biden’s former chief of staff Ron Klain.
There will be many conflicts in the area of abortion. President Trump has promised to veto a nationwide abortion ban if someone hits his desk. However, during the campaign, the vice president-elect, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, suggested that the Republican administration would cut off funding for Planned Parenthood, telling reporters, “Taxpayers should not fund late-term abortions.” I don’t think we should.”
A series of political groups that support abortion rights (Emily’s List, National Women’s Law Center Action Fund, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and Reproductive Freedom for All) released a memo after the election that included He vowed to “hold President Trump and all anti-abortion politicians accountable.” For what they have done and will do to destroy reproductive freedom. ”
In the field of immigration, the American Civil Liberties Union issued its first warning against the Trump administration on Monday, filing a lawsuit seeking more information on how authorities swiftly deport people from the United States.
Trump officials are considering how to structure the executive action aimed at withstanding legal challenges from immigrant rights groups. It’s a strategy aimed at avoiding the pitfalls of Trump’s first term, when civil rights groups and state attorneys general succeeded in delaying implementation of various versions. Muslim travel ban.
Look at the work of climate organizations like EarthJustice and the Sierra Club. They are bracing for continued reversals of dozens of environmental rules covering everything from air pollution limits to drilling in protected areas.
Earthjustice sued Trump administration: ‘We are stronger now and we are ready’ 130 times or more And in a statement after Trump’s election was called, he said he had won most of the court rulings. “We’re going to see Donald Trump in court.”
