“New York attorney general to sue Trump administration over ‘public charge’ rule” – The Hill

“California, Massachusetts Vow To Sue As Trump Administration Pushes For Rollback Of Endangered Species Act” – Associated Press

 “States Sue Trump Administration Over Rollback of Obama-Era Climate Rule” – The New York Times

In the past 24 hours, Democratic Attorneys General have taken swift action to respond to dangerous actions coming out of the White House on immigration and the environment. Quick recap below:

1. New York AG Tish James announced her office will sue the Trump Administration over the “Public Charge” rule, which expands the list of public benefits that could disqualify recipients from being granted citizenship. “Under this rule, children will go hungry; families will go without medical care. I am committed to defending all of New York’s communities, which is why I intend to sue the Trump Administration over this egregious rule,” AG James said. A number of other Democratic AGs also indicated their plans to also file lawsuits.

2. Yesterday, Trump administration announced a rule weakening the enforcement of the Endangered Species Act is applied, which will limit protections for already at-risk animals and plants at a time of record global extinction and increased climate change. California AG Xavier Becerra and Massachusetts AG Maura Healey immediately announced they would be suing the Trump administration following the rule release.

“Our precious wildlife and ecosystems are in critical danger. By rolling back the Endangered Species Act the Trump Administration would be putting a nail in our coffin – all for the sake of boosting the profits of those putting these species at risk in the first place. We’re ready to fight to preserve this important law – the species with whom we share this planet, and depend on, deserve no less,” said AG Becerra.

“By gutting key components of the Endangered Species Act, one of our country’s most successful environmental laws, the Trump Administration is putting our most imperiled species and our vibrant local tourism and recreation industries at risk. We will be taking the Administration to court to defend federal law and protect our rare animals, plants, and the environment,” said AG Healey.

Late last year, AG Becerra led a coalition of 10 Democratic Attorneys General in submitting a comment letter describing the flaws with the proposed rollbacks on the Endangered Species Act.

3. This morning, New York AG Tish James announced a multi-state lawsuit challenging Trump’s “Dirty Power Plan,” which would ease restrictions on coal-burning power plants. The coalition argues that “the new rule would actually extend the life of dirty and aging coal-burning plants, promoting an increase in pollution instead of curbing it.”

“Rather than staying the course with policies aimed at fixing the problem and protecting people’s health, safety, and the environment, the Trump Administration repealed the Clean Power Plan and replaced it with this ‘Dirty Power’ rule. My office, and this groundbreaking coalition of states and cities from across the nation, will fight back against this unlawful, do-nothing rule in order to protect our future from catastrophic climate change,” said AG James.

“The Clean Air Act requires the E.P.A. to utilize the best system of emissions reduction that it can find. This rule does the opposite,” noted AG Becerra.

Read more about the Democratic AG response to the “Dirty Power Plan” here, the Endangered Species Act here, and the “Public Charge” rule here!

Reminder: Democratic Attorneys General currently hold office in 27 states, represent the majority of Americans, and the states responsible for the majority of the U.S. GDP (63.1%). They are the most diverse coalition of Democratic AGs in history.