Hawaii attorney general at forefront of fight against Trump orders

A team of deputy attorneys general are coordinating legal counterattacks to President Donald Trump’s “blatantly unconstitutional” efforts to reshape funding for states and how the federal government manages its citizens.

By filing lawsuits and joining actions seeking preliminary injunctions against Trump’s executive orders, Attorney General Anne E. Lopez’s team is working with colleagues across the country to push back.

In an interview with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Lopez said shortly after Trump was sworn in on Jan. 20, state officials became “increasingly aware” of how much Hawaii stood to lose.

State departments and their partners reported that federal funds could not be tapped and what followed was intermittent access to federal money.

Hawaii departments and agencies draw federal funding from about 2,600 different streams. About half of the state’s $17 billion budget comes from special and federal dollars.

“We had information from … every one of our state departments that obtains federal funds discovered that their ability to draw down funds was either frozen or limited in some cases. What we stand to lose is a lot of the programs that keep people healthy, that keep our environment clean and allow job programs for those of our residents who were displaced on Maui from getting the help they need to get jobs and retraining,” Lopez said.

On Jan. 31, a federal judge in Rhode Island issued a temporary restraining order in the lawsuit filed by Lopez and 22 other state attorneys general. The temporary restraining order prohibits the Trump administration from “pausing, freezing, impeding, blocking, canceling, or terminating” access to federal funding.

The temporary restraining order is valid until the court rules on a motion for preliminary injunction, according to state officials.

Solicitor General Kalikoo­nalani Fernandes and deputy attorney general David D. Day are co-leading the team of seven state attorneys leading the legal charge against Trump’s chaotic barrage of executive orders.

Toni Schwartz, public information officer for the department, is coordinating communications and messaging among the 23 state attorneys general offices.

Lopez acknowledged Trump’s pattern of ignoring the rule of law and his practice of flooding the public conversation around his administration with controversy and outlandish statements and actions.

Trump’s reality television tactics will be countered through the courts, said Lopez.

“This is the way our republic was formed,” Lopez said. “We have three branches of government. The judiciary plays an important role and whether he (Trump) ignores it or not, at this point, doesn’t make a difference. We need to stand up, we need to oppose his violations of the Constitution and violations of the law and doing it as a group of attorneys general … projects it further throughout the United States. People have to understand what he’s doing. People need to realize what he’s lying about and what the real truth is … That’s the first step in all of this. I also believe the judiciary isn’t corrupt. I think the judiciary recognizes its role in our democracy and it will step up to the plate and enforce the rule of law.”

The most recent lawsuit came Feb. 13 when Lopez joined 13 other attorneys general to challenge the “unlawful delegation of executive power to Elon Musk.”

Trump, who touts Musk’s technological and monetary support for his political career, has given the mercurial billionaire unfettered access to federal government operations and institutions.

The lawsuit argues that Trump violated the appointments clause of the U.S. Constitution, which ensures that executive appointments are subject to congressional oversight and Senate confirmation.

By giving Musk “sweeping powers” over the entire federal government without seeking the “advice and consent of the Senate” is unconstitutional, Lopez said.

Musk’s actions put the “financial and operational stability” of the states in jeopardy by disrupting billions of dollars in federal funding essential for law enforcement, health care, education and other critical services.

“He’s allowed Elon Musk to make decisions about what should and should not be cut and those decisions are being made arbitrarily and it’s obvious they are being made arbitrarily,” Lopez said. “The chaos that he’s creating has real, substantive impacts on every single American.”

Four days before joining the lawsuit against Trump, Lopez joined a civil action with 21 other attorneys general targeting the Trump administration, the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health to bar them from “unlawfully” slashing funds that support cutting-edge medical and public health research at universities and research institutions across the country.

On Feb. 7, the NIH announced it would cut indirect cost rates to an across-the-board 15% rate.

That rate is “significantly less” than the cost required to perform cutting-edge medical research and the NIH tried to push it through in 72 hours.

“President Trump’s total lack of compassion for all Americans knows no bounds. In just three weeks, he has cut programs providing healthcare and education, resources for climate change and clean air, and policies promoting diversity and equity,” said Lopez in a statement the day the lawsuit was filed. “Now, he is making massive cuts to lifesaving medical research. Here in Hawai‘i, the University of Hawaii is supported by 175 awards and subawards from the NIH with a current value of $211 million. I joined this lawsuit with my fellow democratic attorneys general because we are the last line of defense to enforce the rule of law.”