Legal battles between the state of Washington and an incoming Trump administration are likely. At a time when Congress has largely abdicated its role and allowed for imperial presidencies, individual states play an increasing role in providing necessary checks and balances.
For Washington, Trump’s expected actions regarding immigration and climate change are particularly important. And incoming Gov. Bob Ferguson — along with incoming Attorney General Nick Brown — has indicated that he will defend the rights of our state against federal actions when those actions skirt the boundaries of legality.
As the state’s attorney general, Ferguson filed 55 lawsuits against the previous Trump administration; by his count, his office won all but one of them. But the issues go beyond partisan politics; as Ferguson points out, he also filed lawsuits against the administrations of Democratic presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
Instead, the issues lie with a Congress that has allowed presidents of both parties to wield extraordinary power. Executive orders have replaced well-vetted, much-debated legislation as the way for presidents to drive their agendas. During his previous term in office, Trump issued orders at the highest rate of any president since Jimmy Carter.
But the volume of executive orders does not tell the entire story. Such orders are increasingly used to detail significant, meaningful policy changes rather than mundane ones. As Gene Healy recently wrote for the Cato Institute: “The presidency itself has become a central fault line of polarization because the president, increasingly, has the power to reshape vast swaths of American life.”
In the case of Trump, it is likely that such power will run counter to the interests and policy preferences of Washingtonians.
As Ferguson said last week, after being elected as Washington’s 24th governor following 12 years as attorney general: “If this team never has to file a single lawsuit against the Trump administration, no one would be more happy than me. …My approach is not to seek an adversarial relationship but, if anyone takes an action that harms Washingtonians, well obviously it’s my job as attorney general to do something.”
Trump ran on a promise of mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. Although the voting public embraced that policy, actions still must be carried out under the parameters of the Constitution. They also must be conducted with minimal impact on our state.
The same can be said about authoritarian plans spelled out in the Project 2025 manifesto, and proposals to roll back climate initiatives. As they demonstrated in last week’s election by overwhelmingly rejecting Measure 2117 — which would have repealed the state’s Climate Commitment Act — Washington voters strongly support efforts to limit carbon emissions and to make large polluters pay for the environmental damage caused by those emissions.
While conservatives have embraced the notion of state’s rights when it comes to abortion, they are loath to extend those rights to climate initiatives. With Republicans having control of the White House, the Senate and (likely) the House, there are few checks on an oppressive administration. That puts a spotlight on efforts at the state level to hold the federal government accountable to the law.
As Brown said in preparation for his role as attorney general, “It’s going to be our obligation to make sure that we are defending the rights of everyone in Washington state, citizen and noncitizen alike.”
