PHOENIX – Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes isn’t done taking legal action against the Trump administration over policies she believes are unconstitutional.
“I’ll stop suing Donald Trump when he stops violating the Constitution and engaging in unlawful activity,” Mayes, a Democrat, told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show on Tuesday.
Under Mayes, Arizona already is part of 13 multistate lawsuits against federal actions taken since Trump returned to the White House in January.
Furthermore, No. 14 is on the way. Mayes wouldn’t reveal the subject, but she confirmed that another lawsuit against the Trump administration will be filed as soon as Tuesday. (UPDATE: The new lawsuit, which challenges the Trump administration’s dismantling of AmeriCorps, a volunteer public service agency, was announced not long after Mayes’ interview.)
“If there’s a violation of the Constitution or the rule of law, I took an oath to protect that, and we’ll continue to do it,” she said.
Arizona AG Kris Mayes explains why state is involved in suits
Mayes said it’s important for Arizona to be involved in these lawsuits because the actions they are challenging impact the state.
“Most of these things are things that only states can do,” she explained.
For example, Arizona joined a 23-state coalition in January in an effort to stop Trump’s executive order to implement a widespread freeze on previously allocated funding.
The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program, which was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, was among the initiatives targeted for cuts.
“This is our partnership with the FBI, the DEA the joint terrorism task force. … They defunded it, and that is not acceptable,” Mayes said. “And so, in order to protect my ability to continue to fight the Mexican drug cartels, I filed that lawsuit.”
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