DENVER — Democratic attorneys general are taking their fight against the Trump administration on the road, hosting town hall events that serve to both rally opposition to the president’s actions and surface stories that could be fodder for future litigation.
“These court victories are important, but more important is everyone’s voice,” Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser (D) said Wednesday to a high school auditorium full of applauding supporters.
Weiser was joined onstage by Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez (D), Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford (D) and Washington Attorney General Nick Brown (D).
They are among the 23 attorneys general that have teamed up to successfully sue the Trump administration over executive orders, funding cuts and layoffs that push the limits of executive power.
Others previously teamed up to host town hall events in Phoenix, St. Paul, Minn., and Portland, Ore.
In Denver, the four officials stressed the importance of defending the rule of law at a time when President Trump is skirting the U.S. Supreme Court’s order to “facilitate” the release of a man mistakenly deported to an El Salvador prison.
“What we are facing right now is uniquely scary,” Brown said. “And I do not have all the answers. I do not know what it means for a president to blatantly disregard what a court says. And I don’t think we’re quite there yet. But we might be there tomorrow, or next week.”
Nine audience members took the microphone to share how federal actions had harmed their businesses, families and communities. The attorneys general then answered questions that members of the public had sent to Weiser’s office ahead of the event.
The head of a community center in Auroria, Colo., described how federal grant cancellations have brought her nonprofit to its knees. “In the last two months, VEC’s entire existence has come into jeopardy,” said Amanda Blaurock, CEO of the Village Exchange Center.
Marya Washburn, a U.S. Forest Service employee who serves on wildfire incident management teams, described how she was fired and then temporarily reinstated by the agency. “As we approach fire season, the infrastructure supporting wildland firefighting is rapidly deteriorating,” she said.
Attorney General Lopez said in her opening remarks that evidence of harm done is vital to a winning court case.
“If we can’t tell a compelling story, or make the judiciary understand what the harm is — not just sort of mundane legal arguments, but what these actions and policies are doing every single day to Americans all over the United States, then we’re not going to win,” she said.
The four attorneys general encouraged attendees to publicly protest the Trump administration’s actions, volunteer or donate to impacted causes, and hold elected leaders up and down the ballot accountable.
“The public has power,” Weiser said. “We the people and our voice has power.”