Trump Administration Will Impact Agenda of State Attorneys General

In the Thomson Reuters article, “Trump Administration Will Impact Agenda of State Attorneys General,” business litigation partner Avi Schick and associate Josh Turner broke down how Republican and Democrat state attorneys general are shifting gears in advance of President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration.

The authors write that presidential elections are often significant drivers of the agendas of attorneys general in both red and blue states. For example, they note that Democrat AGs are likely to pursue litigation aimed at halting Trump’s signature initiatives, a continuation of their successful suits that hampered his previous administration’s programs, such as funding of a border wall. Schick and Turner outline how they expect to see legal fights on antitrust, environmental, health and immigration policies. For Republican AG’s, they expect to see lawsuits aimed at protecting and promoting religious liberties, business climates, and cutting restrictive environmental policies.

Schick and Turner also discussed how they expect the private sector to see increased litigation, especially in blue states, where AG’s may view Trump’s administration as overly business-friendly and attempt to limit its enforcement efforts.

“We are long past the time when State AG offices were seen as boring backwaters,” the authors said. “They now play an increasingly important role in setting the national agenda and have become quite effective at using all of the tools at their disposal to do so. Nobody really knows what the next four years will bring at the DOJ. What is certain is that State Attorneys General wield broad powers and are not shy about using them. CEOs and general counsels ignore them at their own peril.”