In a remarkable display of legal activism, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has engaged in 30 lawsuits against the federal administration since President Donald Trump assumed office in January. Among the few states with Democratic attorney generals, Arizona’s legal challenges are notable yet not as numerous as those from other states.
The state’s legal actions have tackled a broad spectrum of issues, including federal nutrition aid disruptions during the government shutdown, immigration enforcement changes, and funding cuts affecting science, public health, and education. Additionally, Mayes has targeted Trump’s efforts to revoke automatic citizenship for certain U.S.-born children and the administration’s regulatory rollbacks favoring fossil fuel production.
“This is not what I get up every day wanting to do,” Mayes remarked to Cronkite News outside the U.S. Supreme Court, following a multistate challenge to the President’s use of tariffs without congressional approval. “But if Donald Trump decides to violate the Constitution, violate statute, or harm the people of Arizona, I’m going to file that lawsuit.”
Despite a mixed track record in court, Mayes claims her actions have saved Arizona $1.5 billion, with temporary relief granted in 15 cases. These victories include temporarily securing $132 million in education funding and over $1 billion related to executive orders from Trump’s early days in office.
Mayes, along with other Democratic attorneys general, positions herself as a defender of citizens and taxpayers. In a case concerning tariffs, Arizona, California, and Oregon argued against measures they considered harmful to U.S. consumers and businesses.
“We have small businesses in Arizona that are going out of business every day,” Mayes stated. She highlighted conversations with local business owners, including a furniture manufacturer and a hotel owner, who are struggling due to the tariffs.
The litigation has cost Arizona approximately $2 million through mid-October, according to the Arizona Republic.
Mayes contends that Republican attorneys general are losing billions by avoiding legal battles with the administration, suggesting they fear political retaliation. “They’re too afraid of Donald Trump … because he’s a dictator and he will punish them and he will end their political careers,” she commented at the Supreme Court.
According to the Progressive State Leaders Committee, which tracks state-federal litigation, Mayes has achieved temporary halts in several cases. These include attempts to dismantle AmeriCorps, reduce NIH funding, cancel electric vehicle charging funds, and implement new immigration rules.
Other successful temporary blocks involved preventing access to taxpayer data by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency and halting a policy to deny birthright citizenship to certain children. Additionally, cuts to disaster mitigation programs and unauthorized access to health data by immigration authorities were also challenged.
Eight cases are still undecided, including efforts to terminate renewable energy projects and restrict education grants. Meanwhile, three cases have allowed Trump policies to proceed amid ongoing litigation.
Pending cases include changes to NIH grant procedures, delegation of executive power to Elon Musk for cost-cutting, and alterations to the Affordable Care Act. In June, issued regulations by the Department of Health and Human Services concerning insurance premiums and enrollment were opposed by Democratic AGs, citing potential violations of the law.
While some challenges, like those against mass layoffs of probationary federal employees and changes at the Department of Education, have failed, other states joined Arizona in successfully protecting pandemic-related grants.
This article first appeared on Cronkite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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