Opposition to the Trump administration, 2017

Opposition to the Trump administration (2017)
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• Opposition to the Trump administration
Specific opposition
• Donor group opposition • Congressional opposition • DNC opposition • Street-level opposition • State opposition • Local opposition

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Days after the 2016 election, politicians, organizations, and others began to strategize about opposing Republican President Donald Trump's policies and administration. Some began focusing on direct opposition to Trump, his administration, and policies, while others began laying out plans for future elections.

This article is a chronicle of those activities and strategies and is organized by the entities opposing Trump's policy agenda. Here you will find tactics for opposing the Trump administration from donor groups, members of Congress, the DNC, protesters and marchers, state governments, and local governments. This page was last updated in November 2017.

Timeline of major administration events and opposition

The following timeline details major events in the Trump administration (in bold) and noteworthy opposition to Trump's policy agenda (in italics). Further detail on these events as well as other noteworthy opposition can be found in the sections below.

November 8, 2016: Donald Trump elected president. November 13-16, 2016: The Democracy Alliance, an invite-only network of progressive donors, outlined their intent to oppose Trump's policy initiatives through local- and state-level intersectional organizing. January 2017: Progressive activist David Brock led a donor retreat to discuss paths forward for Democratic donors and strategists. During the retreat, he said that his organizations aimed to raise $40 million, with half going to 501(c)(3) organizations and half going to 501(c)(4) organizations and super PACs. January 20, 2017: President Donald Trump inaugurated. January 21: The Women's March on Washington protested Trump's previous rhetoric towards women. It was held at the same time as women's marches in cities across the U.S., including New York, New York; Boston, Massachusetts; Atlanta, Georgia; Denver, Colorado; Los Angeles, California; Phoenix, Arizona; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Key West, Florida. January 27, 2017: Trump signed first executive order limiting immigration to the United States. January 30, 2017: Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson (D) announced that he was suing the Trump administration, claiming that Trump's order and some refugee settlement was unconstitutional. He was joined by Minnesota's attorney general. February 3, 2017: Judge James Robart of the U.S. District Court of Western Washington issued a temporary restraining order on a nationwide basis, meaning that many of the key provisions of the executive order were suspended until the full case could be heard. January 31, 2017: Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch to U.S. Supreme Court. February 2017: Democratic-leaning organizations opposing Gorsuch’s nomination coalesced into a group calling itself The People's Defense. They ran social media ads encouraging voters to call senators and express unfavorable opinions on Gorsuch. Senate Democrats, led by Chuck Schumer confirmed their intent to vote against Gorsuch. February 24, 2017: The Democratic National Committee elected former Labor Secretary Tom Perez as its next chair and began reorganizing the organization's structure and approach. March 6, 2017: Trump signed second executive order limiting immigration to the United States. March 7, 2017: Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin (D) filed a lawsuit against Trump's order. The lawsuit claimed, "The new executive order is resulting in the establishment of religion in the state of Hawaii contrary to its state constitution; it is inflicting immediate damage to Hawaii's economy, educational institutions, and tourism industry; and it is subjecting a portion of the state's citizens to second-class treatment and discrimination, while denying all Hawaii residents the benefits of an inclusive and pluralistic society," attorneys for the state argued in court filings." March 15, 2017: Judge Derrick Kahala Watson ruled in favor of the state of Hawaii and issued a temporary restraining order. March 6, 2017: The American Health Care Act (AHCA), the House Republican plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, was introduced in House. March 8: Democrats in the House worked to stall the bill's progress by forcing committee and floor votes, requiring the bill to be read out loud, and requesting that the bill's name change to the "Republican Pay More For Less Care Act." The House Democrats also began proposing a number of amendments to the bill, including one that would guarantee no tax increase for those making under $250,000 and one that would make the bill available to the House for 72 hours before a vote. June 22, 2017: The Better Care Reconciliation Act, the Senate's version of the AHCA, was unveiled. June 19, 2017: Senate Democrats began to delay Senate proceedings in an effort to force the Republican healthcare plan into a committee. Democrats intended to object to all unanimous consent requests and would block committee hearings from extending past the first two hours. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the procedural tactics were an effort to force Republicans to discuss the plan in public. July 25, 2017: The U.S. Department of Justice announced that cities wishing to receive federal grant money through the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program must comply with federal immigration laws. August 7, 2017: The city of Chicago sued the Justice Department, arguing that the government cannot deny JAG grants to the city as the grants are based on a statutory formula created by Congress, and that both the president and the Justice Department lack the constitutional authority to alter Congress’ requirements for awarding the grants.

Donor umbrella groups

Major donor umbrella groups—like the Democracy Alliance, the Center for American Progress, and organizations aligned with progressive activist David Brock—developed strategies of opposing Trump's agenda through increased rapid response efforts, more investment in state and local coalition building, and the development of new litigation shops to challenge Trump's ability to implement his policies.

American Civil Liberties Union

See also: American Civil Liberties Union

• The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which typically pursues litigation of what the group perceives to be civil rights violations, began an initiative called the Smart Justice Campaign, aimed at ending incarceration practices at the local and state levels. According to Politico, the organization began working to challenge the policies and procedures of the U.S. Department of Justice and Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Udi Ofer, director of the ACLU's program, said the group would employ a strategy aimed at litigation and winning elections for local prosecutors with the ultimate goal of changing prosecuting and incarceration procedures. Ofer told Politico, "If we’re ever going to genuinely transform our nation’s criminal justice system, then we have to overhaul prosecutorial practices. If there’s one person in the system that can end mass incarceration tomorrow if they wanted to, it’s prosecutors."
• On July 10, 2017, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against Trump, Vice President Mike Pence (R), and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R), alleging that the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, which was established by executive order and co-chaired by Pence and Kobach, violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The complaint alleged, in part, that the committee's actions were not in line with the committee's purpose, as the ACLU saw the committee's requests for voter information to be outside the committee's stated purpose of reporting on federal laws and practices regarding voting.
• On August 28, 2017, the ACLU's Maryland chapter filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration's policy toward transgender people serving in the military. Trump signed a directive on August 25 that re-instituted a ban on transgender people serving in the armed forces, a reversal of an Obama administration policy directive. The ACLU argued that the ban was unconstitutional and discriminated against transgender people.

Center for American Progress

See also: Center for American Progress

The Center for American Progress is a progressive nonprofit organization with both a 501(c)(3) think tank—which The Washington Post called "the preeminent liberal think tank in Washington"—and a 501(c)(4) action fund. Through the development of public information and communication networks, the center attempts to move its agenda into the national policy debate.

• In December 2016, the Center for American Progress announced it would oppose Trump's agenda through increased tracking and accountability efforts. At the time, the group's CEO and president, Neera Tanden, said, "[H]e promised to ‘drain the swamp’ and improve the lives of middle-class Americans, and where he betrays those promises, we want to make it clear to the public that he’s done so." The organization's 501(c)(4) arm launched an online tracker of Trump's statements and actions and described the effort as "your digital guide for resisting Trump."
• In March 2017, the organization announced it would hold the Ideas Conference, a meeting of Democratic lawmakers and policy experts based loosely on the model of the CPAC conference held by the American Conservative Union. According to Politico, the conference was intended to feature "substantive proposals on the economy, climate change, national security, civil rights, reproductive rights and immigration rather than just political attacks on Trump."

Center for Popular Democracy

See also: Center for Popular Democracy

• In May 2017, at the spring gala for the Center for Popular Democracy Action, the 501(c)(4) organization announced a plan to spend $80 million to coordinate work with 48 smaller donor groups in 32 states. According to CNN, the effort began as an attempt "on the left to channel anger at the Trump administration into a lasting power base, with the ability to influence policy debates within the Democratic Party while boosting candidates on the local, state and federal levels."

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)

See also: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington

• On January 23, 2017, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a lawsuit alleging that Trump was in violation of the emoluments clause. The organization’s statement about the suit said, “Since Trump refused to divest from his businesses, he is now getting cash and favors from foreign governments, through guests and events at his hotels, leases in his buildings, and valuable real estate deals abroad.” Two new plaintiffs—a restaurant association and a banquet hall booker in Washington, D.C.—joined the suit in April. In August 2017, Judge George Daniels ordered for oral arguments to begin on October 18, 2017. On December 21, 2017, Judge Daniels dismissed CREW's lawsuit, saying that the plaintiffs lacked legal standing to sue Trump. Daniels held that Congress has the power to act on and enforce the emoluments clause, while private citizens do not. At the time, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs said that they planned to appeal the decision.
• On July 6, 2017, CREW filed an ethics complaint against Trump advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner, claiming that Kushner failed to declare ownership in Cadre, an online real estate company. The organization's lawsuit claimed that Kushner's failure to disclose his ownership presented conflicts of interest. CREW executive director Noah Bookbinder said in a statement, "Kushner’s failure to disclose his ownership in Cadre is very troubling,” CREW Executive Director Noah Bookbinder said in a statement. It appears to be one of his larger investments, not something he could easily overlook, and it is impossible to ensure that senior government officials are behaving ethically if they fail to disclose key assets."
• CREW, along with the National Security Archive and the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, sued the Trump administration for visitor records at Mar-a-Lago, Trump's private club in Florida. According to Politico, the club did not keep records of guests, but the organization was authorized to receive "records of presidential visitors at Mar-a-Lago." CREW spokesperson Jordan Libowitz said, "What that means is somewhat of a mystery, but whatever records they kept, we will be getting."
• On August 23, 2017, CREW filed a Freedom of Information Act request to view records related to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's use of a private government plan to travel to Lexington, Kentucky. The group alleges that statements by Mnuchin's spouse, Louise Linton, show that the two traveled to Kentucky to get a better view of the total solar eclipse. CREW's statement read, in part, "The requested records would shed light on the justification for Secretary Mnuchin’s use of a government plane, rather than a commercial flight, for a trip that seems to have been planned around the solar eclipse and to enable the Secretary to secure a viewpoint in the path of the eclipse’s totality."

Democracy Alliance

See also: Democracy Alliance

The Democracy Alliance (DA) is an invite-only network of wealthy supporters of progressive political causes. Rather than pooling and redirecting donations to other organizations, the alliance advises its donors (referred to as partners) on how to maximize the effectiveness of their political giving. Individual partners must pay an entry fee ($25,000) and yearly dues ($30,000) to the group itself, used for operations costs and for grants to progressive startups. They must also spend at least $200,000 annually in support of approved organizations.

• From November 13 to 16, 2016, the DA hosted a meeting of donors, partners, and supporters to discuss the 2016 election and develop strategies for future coalition building and elections. During the meeting, DA members outlined their intent to oppose Trump's policy initiatives through local- and state-level intersectional organizing. According to the conference agenda, DA members discussed "what it means to use an 'intersectional' approach for active resistance. ... Our investment in the states and marginalized communities is now more crucial than ever to hold conservatives accountable, keep the progressive community united, and bring the working class together again."
• At the DA's national donor summit in March 2017, DA President Gara LaMarche remarked on the organization's approach to opposing the Trump policy agenda, saying that resisting the Trump administration was about "the essential character of our country." LaMarche added:

“

We must take the fight to the states, and put our dollars where they are most needed. To paint the future in places where we have some power, like Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, and California, so that when we win back power in other places there is a roadmap for a better America. To keep and expand our gains in Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Mexico and North Carolina. To take back Ohio and Michigan and Florida and Wisconsin. To keep our eyes on the prizes of Arizona, Georgia and my beloved Texas, and down the line, southern states with now un-registered Black and Immigrant voters, and prairie and western states where proud progressive populist traditions can be reawakened.

”

• The DA held a fall investment conference from November 15 to 18, 2017. The conference agenda included sessions on the "Next Fights of the Resistance and the 2018 Midterms," "Aligning New and Traditional Resistance Energy to Win," and "Moving Beyond #Resistance-Learning from the Past, Mobilizing for the Future."
• The Washington Post dismissed Janell Ross, a former reporter on the newspaper's national desk, after the Washington Free Beacon reported that Ross had participated in a panel during the November 2017 DA conference. According to CNN report in January 2018, Ross' activity at the conference violated the policy of the Post that "discourages participation in any activity that could be perceived as partisan." The Post declined to comment on the timeline of Ross' dismissal.

David Brock-aligned organizations

See also: David Brock

David Brock is a progressive donor and activist who started the 501(c)(3) Media Matters for America as well as American Bridge 21st Century and Correct the Record, two progressive super PACs.

• In a December 2016 interview with Politico, Brock said he intended to build a litigation organization to bring legal pressure on Trump throughout his presidency. Comparing this effort to Judicial Watch, a conservative litigation group, Brock said, "I would like to get Trump into discovery. I would like to subpoena him. I would like to put him under oath. ... I think we need a strategy around how to use the power we have and a lot of that will be about litigation."
• Brock led a donor retreat in January 2017 to discuss paths forward for Democratic donors and strategists. During the retreat, he said that his organizations aimed to raise $40 million, with half going to 501(c)(3) organizations and half going to 501(c)(4) organizations and super PACs.
  • The 501(c)(4) groups would focus on opposition research and had decided to work on all competitive 2018 races for U.S. Senate as well as the 2017 races for governor in Virginia and New Jersey, according to Politico.
  • In prepared remarks at the donor retreat, Brock laid out details on American Bridge's anti-Trump efforts. On January 20, 2017, Brock said:

“

American Bridge has already set up a world-class vetting operation, the largest in the Democratic Party, to investigate the records of some 1,200 potential Trump nominees to federal office. We will do this with eyes wide open. Even if most of the nominees are eventually confirmed, by making the confirmation process as painful as possible, for every moment the Administration spends on defense, we're educating Americans on what this administration is about. ... We're also researching Trump's policy agenda to illustrate its impacts, especially on working families, women, immigrants and people of color. American Bridge will communicate its findings to Congress, the news media, progressive allies and to the public directly, including, critically, a targeted campaign to reach Trump's own supporters on social media and through paid advertising.

”

• The State Innovation Exchange (SiX), a nonprofit organization that Brock supported and encouraged further donation to, announced a major expansion of its board and budget. The organization focuses on state-level issues concerning redistricting and recruiting state-level candidates. SiX was organized and funded as a progressive alternative to the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the Republican State Leadership Committee. According to Politico, "The goal behind expanding the board was two-fold: to bring together the divergent groups jockeying for control of the Democratic Party, and raise some big money to compete with the deep-pocketed constellation of conservative groups that have long given the GOP an advantage at the state level."

Electronic Privacy Information Center

• On February 16, 2017, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) sued the Internal Revenue service under the Freedom of Information Act, requesting access to Trump's tax returns. The group's request was denied on March 2, and the organization refiled the claim on March 29. In their letter of appeal and reapplication, the organization wrote, "If the Freedom of Information Act means anything, it means that the American public has the right to know whether records exist in a federal agency which reveal that the U.S. president has financial dealings with a foreign adversary."

NAACP

See also: NAACP

• On May 19, 2017, the board for the NAACP, the nation's largest civil rights organization, voted to dismiss the organization's president, Cornell William Brooks. The dismissal was due, in part, to the organization's desire to oppose Trump more directly. Board chairman Leon Russell told The Washington Post, "I think Cornell was good at raising the issue in terms of going out and being able to do the protest part of it. But we are now at the point where the issues are raised. Everyone is aware of them. But it’s time to put something on the table to actualize solutions." At that time, the group intended to increase support for local chapters in an effort to train activists to oppose the Trump administration.

National Education Association

See also: National Education Association

The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States and represents public education professionals.

• After Trump announced he would nominate Michigan philanthropist and school choice advocate Betsy DeVos to be secretary of education on November 23, 2016, the NEA began a letter-writing campaign to oppose DeVos' nomination. The call for letters read, "By nominating Betsy DeVos, the incoming Trump administration is demonstrating it does not share our vision of public education and what works best for students, parents, and communities. Tell your senators that we need an experienced, qualified secretary of education who actually wants to strengthen and improve all public schools. Contact your senators now, and tell them to vote NO on Betsy DeVos."

NextGen Climate Action

See also: NextGen Climate Action

• NextGen Climate Action, the environmental issues super PAC run by billionaire Tom Steyer, announced on January 31, 2017, that it would expand its political efforts beyond environmental concerns. In a video announcing the expansion, Steyer solicited ideas from the public about how to oppose Trump's administration. Buzzfeed reported that Steyer was considering a number of anti-Trump options, including "organizing a network of nationwide activists, registering voters, forming alliances with other liberal groups — while still investing millions in progressive candidates."

Organizing for Action

See also: Organizing for Action

• In August 2017, Politico reported that Organizing for Action (OFA)—a nonprofit built from the Obama 2012 re-election campaign—had taken on a role in opposition to the Trump administration and in opposition to congressional attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Operating with a "state- and district-focused strategy," OFA worked to protest repeal attempts while also training other activist organizations opposing Trump's policy agenda. According to Politico, the group had worked with Indivisible—an organization founded to oppose Trump—and Swing Left—a group supportive of progressive candidates in 2018 House races. OFA also worked with Democratic lawmakers to help organize events.

The People's Defense

In February 2017, Democratic-leaning organizations opposing Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court coalesced into a group calling itself The People's Defense. Members of The People’s Defense included:

• The American Federation of Teachers
• CREDO Action
• Daily Kos
• Democracy for America
• Demos
• End Citizens United
• Every Voice
• Indivisible
• Lambda Legal
• MoveOn.org
• NARAL Pro-Choice America
• National LGBTQ Task Force
• People For the American Way
• Progressive Change Campaign Committee
• Service Employees International Union
• Stand Up America
• Ultraviolet
• Working Families Party

The coalition aimed to present Gorsuch as a judge who would seek to overturn Roe v. Wade and who would be favorable to corporations. In March 2017, the group launched an online ad campaign aimed at Democratic senators up for election in 2018 who represented states Trump carried in 2016. The ads encouraged voters to call senators and express unfavorable opinions on Gorsuch. The organization specifically targeted Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey (D), advertising on Facebook, “Gorsuch has sided with an effort to defund Planned Parenthood, favored big corporations over employees, and would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. Call Senator Bob Casey and tell him to keep Gorsuch off the bench.”

Public Citizen

See also: Public Citizen

Public Citizen is an organization founded by Ralph Nader that focuses on what it claims are "abusive practices of the pharmaceutical, nuclear and automobile industries, and many others."

• On February 8, 2017, Public Citizen, along with the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Communications Workers of America, filed suit claiming that Trump had overstepped his authority in issuing an executive order to cut two regulations for each new regulation established. The suit argued, in part, that the requirement to cut two regulations violates "the statutes from which the agencies derive their rulemaking authority and the Administrative Procedure Act" and would "block or force the repeal of regulations needed to protect health, safety, and the environment, across a broad range of topics."
• On August 17, 2017, Public Citizen filed a lawsuit to gain access to visitors logs to the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Council on Environmental Quality, all offices located within the White House but not considered to be core offices of the White House. Visitors logs to core offices are not accessible by Freedom of Information Act requests. A spokesperson for Public Citizen told Politico, "The D.C. Circuit has already held that the records we requested are agency records subject to FOIA. There is no legal justification for the Secret Service to withhold them."

reFocus50

• In March 2017, activists in Alaska, Colorado, New York, and Ohio organized a national nonprofit organization called reFocus50 in an effort to focus on Democratic strategy at the state level. The organization was designed to educate the public and policymakers about state politics and policy. According to the organization's website, the national nonprofit was set up to provide an umbrella organization for many state-level groups. In March 2017, their site described these efforts: "reFOCUS 50 is designed to be an umbrella with an individual organization in each state run by people in that state. If there's an existing group that wants to be involved, wonderful. We don't want to get into duplicating effort or in the way of the hard work organizations have been doing around the country. If a state needs a group created from scratch, we'll identify local leaders who will be in charge of the effort."

Congressional opposition

See also: Democratic-leaning congressional opposition to the Trump administration

• On January 9, 2017, Democrats in both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House introduced legislation to "require the President and Vice President to disclose and divest any potential financial conflicts of interest." In the U.S. Senate, the bill was introduced by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) with 23 other Democratic senators as cosponsors. The U.S. House bill was introduced by Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) with five other cosponsors. The Senate version of the bill specified that, should the bill be passed into law, noncompliance of the act would "constitute a high crime or misdemeanor under article II, section 4 of the Constitution of the United States."

• On June 14, 2017, 196 Democrats in the House and Senate filed a federal lawsuit alleged that Trump was in violation of the foreign emoluments clause in the Constitution. The members of Congress alleged that, because Trump maintained ties to his global businesses, he was actively receiving benefits from foreign governments that used his hotels. They also charged that Trump did not seek congressional approval to accept the payments to his companies. Part of the suit read: "Although Defendant Donald J. Trump has accepted the privilege of occupying the highest office in the land, he is not obeying the same rules as the federal officers and employees described above or following the example of compliance set by former presidents. He has refused to divest from his businesses and instead continues to accept financial payments and other benefits from foreign states through his many business entities without first obtaining the consent of Congress."

U.S. Senate-specific opposition

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer

Opposition to Trump Cabinet nominations

• Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) outlined a Democratic strategy targeting eight of Trump's Cabinet nominees. According to The Washington Post, Schumer indicated that Democrats would slow down the confirmation process for Trump's nominees who did not disclose what Democrats considered to be sufficient financial and ethics reports. Schumer told the paper, "Any attempt by Republicans to have a series of rushed, truncated hearings before Inauguration Day and before the Congress and public have adequate information on all of them is something Democrats will vehemently resist. ... If Republicans think they can quickly jam through a whole slate of nominees without a fair hearing process, they’re sorely mistaken."

• Schumer indicated that Senate Democrats would oppose eight of Trump's nominees:
  • Rex Tillerson, the secretary of state nominee
  • Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), attorney general nominee
  • Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget nominee
  • Betsy DeVos, education secretary nominee
  • Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), secretary of health and human services nominee
  • Andy Puzder, labor secretary nominee
  • Steve Mnuchin, treasury secretary nominee
  • Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, Environmental Protection Agency administrator nominee
• Seven of the eight targeted nominees were confirmed by the Senate. Andy Puzder withdrew his nomination following reports that he did not have enough support among Senate Republicans to be confirmed.

Opposition to Trump executive branch nominees

As of March 27, 2018, 78 of President Donald Trump’s executive branch nominees who had been approved by the appropriate Senate committees had not gotten a confirmation vote on the Senate floor. Under Senate procedure, the majority leader asks for unanimous consent for the Senate to move to a confirmation vote on a nominee. If a single senator objects to the unanimous consent motion, a cloture vote ensues, which then requires 30 hours of floor debate. According to The Wall Street Journal, “Cloture votes used to be almost unheard of for nominations other than judges. At this point in the past four presidencies combined, only 15 executive-branch nominees were confirmed after cloture. Yet in the current Congress, Democrats have already invoked cloture on more than 50 Trump nominees. Their goal is simply to slow the formation of a GOP government and soak up valuable Senate floor time.” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that 43 percent of Trump’s nominees were waiting for confirmation votes. According to the Journal, she also said that “there have been 102 fewer confirmations so far than in even the slowest recent Administration.”

In response to the slow confirmation process, Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) proposed changing Senate procedure to reduce the 30 hours of debate on nominees to eight. According to the Journal, “This was the standard in 2013-2014 after Republicans then in the minority agreed to a request from Majority Leader Harry Reid, but that deal lapsed with the last Congress.” Lankford’s proposal would need 60 votes to change the rule for the remainder of the 115th Congress and 67 for a permanent rule change.

Opposition to Supreme Court nominee

See also: Supreme Court vacancy, 2017: An overview

• In an interview with MSNBC on January 3, 2017, Schumer said that Senate Democrats would uniformly vote against any Trump nominee to the Supreme Court of the United States who was not what Schumer described as mainstream. Schumer said, “We are not going to settle on a Supreme Court nominee. If they don’t appoint someone who’s really good, we’re gonna oppose him tooth and nail. … It’s hard for me to imagine a nominee that Donald Trump would choose that would get Republican support that we could support.” When asked if he would work to “hold the seat open,” Schumer replied, “Absolutely.”

• On January 31, 2017, President Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch, a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, to serve on the Supreme Court. Gorsuch's confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee were held from March 20-23, 2017.

• On March 23, 2017, Schumer stated that he would support a Democratic filibuster in an effort to prevent Gorsuch's confirmation.

Floor debate

See also: Neil Gorsuch nomination and confirmation

• On April 4, 2017, in a 55-44 vote, the U.S. Senate passed a procedural motion to begin debate on Gorsuch's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court on the floor of the Senate. Four Democratic senators—Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.)—voted with 51 of 52 Republican senators to pass the motion.

• On April 6, the Senate failed to invoke cloture on a Democratic filibuster of Gorsuch's nomination. To break the filibuster, 60 senators were required to agree to invoke cloture. Fifty-five senators—51 Republicans and four Democrats—voted to invoke cloture. The Democratic senators who voted with the Republicans were Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), and Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.).

• During the course of the floor debate, Schumer made a series of parliamentary inquiries and motions in an effort to postpone a vote on Gorsuch's nomination. His motions to delay a vote failed.

• On April 6, McConnell invoked the nuclear option, a change installing a rule that lowered the threshold for ending debate from 60 senators to 51 senators. Under the new threshold, the Senate subsequently voted to end debate on Gorsuch's nomination.

• Following the vote, Schumer stated, "Today's vote is a cautionary tale about how unbridled partisan escalation can ultimately overwhelm our basic inclination to work together, and frustrate our efforts to pull back, blocking us from steering the ship of the Senate away from the rocks."

Confirmation

• On Friday, April 7, McConnell moved to close debate on the nominee. That motion passed. The Senate subsequently voted to confirm Gorsuch on a recorded 54-45 vote. Three Democratic senators joined with 51 Republican senators in voting to confirm Gorsuch: Joe Donnelly (Ind.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), and Joe Manchin (W. Va.). Gorsuch took his judicial oaths of office on Monday, April 10, 2017.

Opposition to Obamacare repeal and replacement

• In a January 4, 2017, interview with Politico, Schumer announced that Democrats would not work to make minor changes to a Republican replacement for the Affordable Care Act, saying, “Obviously they’re [Democrats] not going to say we won’t look at anything. But the idea of just tweaking a Republican plan that takes away these benefits, the bottom line is there is virtual unanimity in our caucus that we’re all from Missouri: Show me. If they show us a plan, and it’s a plan that we can live with, of course. But we’re not going to sit down in a room with them once they repeal and say let’s figure out a joint plan.” Schumer also indicated that Democrats would stage public rallies around the theme that Republican healthcare policy would “Make America Sick Again.”

Federal funding bill, March 2017

• As the Senate worked to develop a funding bill in March 2017, Schumer sent a letter—also signed by Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin (Ill.), Patty Murray (Wash.), Debbie Stabenow (Mich.), and Patrick Leahy (Vt.)—saying they would not support a funding bill that included spending for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border or any budget riders that would "roll back protections for our veterans, environment, consumers, and workers and prohibit funds for critical healthcare services for women through Planned Parenthood. We strongly oppose the inclusion of such riders in any of the must-pass appropriations bills that fund the government."

Jeff Merkley

Opposition to Supreme Court nominee

See also: U.S. senators on Neil Gorsuch's nomination

• On January 30, 2017, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) said that he would filibuster any choice Trump made to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court unless Trump nominated Merrick Garland, the judge President Barack Obama nominated who did not receive a hearing in the Senate. Merkley told Politico, "This is a stolen seat. This is the first time a Senate majority has stolen a seat. We will use every lever in our power to stop this."
• During the Senate floor debate over President Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch, Merkley spoke on the floor for 15 hours and 28 minutes. His speech began at 6:45 p.m. on April 4, 2017, and continued until 10:15 a.m. on April 5, 2017. According to a report in Roll Call, Merkley’s was the eighth-longest speech in the Senate since 1900. Gorsuch was ultimately confirmed by the Senate on April 7, 2017.

Federal court nominations

• In May 2017, Trump nominated 10 conservative judges to federal courts, and Senate Democrats announced their intention to block the nominations. Because of rules changes in 2013, the Senate required 51 votes for confirmation, but Senate Democrats announced that they would use the blue slip process to block appointments from Minnesota and Michigan. Those states, which were represented by two Democratic senators, could block the nomination by turning in two unfavorable opinions of the nominee on their blue slips (which are official opinions of federal judicial nominees from the nominee's state).
• On November 14, 2017, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R) moved forward with scheduling hearings for two federal judicial nominees—despite having received negative blue slips from one of each of the nominee's home state senators. "Some of my Democratic colleagues and left-wing outside groups mistakenly assert that the blue slip affords a home state senator veto power over a nominee. That is not true," stated Grassley.
• By December 14, 2017, the Senate had confirmed 12 of Trump's federal court nominees—the highest number of federal judicial confirmations during a president's first year in office. Presidents Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy both confirmed 11 federal judicial nominees during the first year of their respective presidencies.
• Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) later expressed her concern over the speed of the confirmations. "Republicans went from delaying all nominees to cramming them through at a breakneck pace," she stated.

Procedural delays to oppose health care repeal plan, June 2017

• On June 19, 2017, Senate Democrats began to delay Senate proceedings in an effort to force the Republican healthcare plan into a committee. The plan, which was being written without Democratic input, had yet to be revealed to the Senate. Politico reported that Democrats intended to object to all unanimous consent requests and would block committee hearings from extending past the first two hours. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the procedural tactics were an effort to force Republicans to discuss the plan in public. He said, "These are merely the first steps we're prepared to take. ... If Republicans won't relent and debate their health care bill in the open for the American people to see, then they shouldn't expect business as usual in the Senate."

U.S. House-specific opposition

Nancy Pelosi

• In March 2017, after Republicans unveiled their plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) began working to oppose the legislation by targeting Republican representatives from states where Medicaid was expanded under the ACA. Pelosi also coordinated efforts to force votes on amendments to the bill during committee markups in the bill's early weeks.
• On March 13, 2017, Pelosi announced that she had hired Democratic strategist Ashley Etienne as her communications director and senior advisor. Pelosi described Etienne's role as acting "to lead House Democrats’ efforts to expose the dangerous and incompetent agenda of the Trump administration." Etienne was hired to focus on oversight, ethics, and Russia in her work dealing with the Trump administration.

Committee markups on American Health Care Act

• On March 8, 2017, the first planned day of committee markups on the American Health Care Act, the Republican replacement for the Affordable Care Act, Democrats in the House worked to stall the bill's progress by forcing committee and floor votes, requiring the bill to be read out loud, and requesting that the bill's name change to the "Republican Pay More For Less Care Act." The House Democrats also began proposing a number of amendments to the bill, including one that would guarantee no tax increase for those making under $250,000 and one that would make the bill available to the House for 72 hours before a vote.

Congressional Black Caucus

See also: Congressional Black Caucus

Opposition to Jeff Sessions nomination for attorney general

• On January 6, 2017, members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), a 527 political group of black members of Congress, announced it would oppose Trump's nominee for attorney general, Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions (R). CBC Chairman Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.) announced, "We are adamantly opposed to Jeff Sessions to be attorney general of United States. ... We will hold those who vote to confirm him accountable."

Democratic National Committee

Reorganization

After the 2016 presidential election loss, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) began discussions about reorganizing infrastructure to focus on state-level activity. In a January 2, 2017, report by The Associated Press, DNC spokesperson Adam Hodge emphasized the role that state parties would play, saying, "State parties are the lifeblood of the DNC, and we make investing in all of them a priority because they are an integral part of winning up and down the ballot. State parties were critical to picking up Senate seats, House seats, legislative chambers and governorships in 2016, and their importance will be a key focus for the party as we elect new officers in February."

New leadership

See also: Democratic National Committee chair election, 2017

On the weekend of February 24, 2017, the more than 400 members of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) elected former Labor Secretary Tom Perez to succeed interim Chairwoman Donna Brazile. Brazile took over the position after former Chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.) resigned during the 2016 elections. At that time, leaked emails appeared to show Wasserman Schultz and DNC officials strategizing to promote Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and hurt rival Bernie Sanders.

Other candidates for the position included Congressman Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), Idaho Democratic Party executive director Sally Boynton Brown, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and political strategist Jehmu Greene.

According to a December report by Politico, the search for new leadership was an immediate imperative after the 2016 elections because the DNC was attempting "to minimize the recriminations and deep tactical divides that are starting to surface across the party in the wake of Hillary Clinton’s loss."

The following table details the major declared candidates in the 2017 race for DNC chair along with their stated priorities.

Candidates for DNC chair, 2017
Candidate	Position during DNC race	Focus of DNC chair campaign	Candidate statement
Keith Ellison	U.S. Rep. from Minnesota	• Emphasis on working families • State and local candidate development • Prioritization of voter relationships	"We must invest in and empower our state and local parties by creating effective field operations, an enhanced and advanced voter file, and a culture of collaboration between candidates at every level."
Tom Perez*	Outgoing Secretary of Labor	• Emphasis on outreach to state parties • Suggestion of year-round organizing in collaboration with state parties	"And we have to earn the trust of every stakeholder in the party. And I think we can do that because the reality, Audie, is that we are fighting much bigger forces. Donald Trump's vision of America, his nativist vision of America, his fear mongering - that's what we have to fight."
Sally Boynton Brown	Executive director, Democratic Party of Idaho	• Emphasis on grassroots organization • Vision of DNC as "service organization for all 57 state parties"	"Our party can’t afford to spend the next two years having an ideological debate on whether we are liberals or moderates. The Democratic Party has always represented the people and now more than ever we must blow the walls off our tent so everyone feels welcome."
Pete Buttigieg	Mayor of South Bend, Indiana	• Emphasis on small communities affected by DNC policies • Presentation of candidacy as alternative to 2016 election rifts	"I can’t think of something more meaningful than organizing the opposition in the face of what I think will be a pretty monstrous presidency and challenging time out here in the states. ... Sitting back and waiting for the map and demographics to save us — that’s not going to be enough."
Jehmu Greene	Political strategist	•Focus on experience in and out of the party structure •Emphasizes strategy and organization rather than politics	"The DNC needs a Chair who is a SEASONED ORGANIZER and a FIERCE MESSENGER. An exceptional Chair who can share far and wide the transformative vision of our candidates and values, and who can counterpunch disinformation, regardless of where it comes from. ... I am a disrupter and political innovator with the heart of a grassroots organizer. Exactly what the party needs right now."
*Perez won the election on February 25, 2017, on the second round of voting.
Campaigns for DNC chair suspended prior to 2017 meeting
Candidate	Position during DNC race	Focus of DNC chair campaign	Candidate statement
Raymond Buckley**	Chair, Democratic Party of New Hampshire	• Focus on state infrastructure • Clarification of party message	"The party's entirely too Washington-focused, and I want to flip that upside down. I understand that elections are won in the states and in the communities across the country, not within the Beltway. In fact, you know, I think that the Beltway folks actually do more hindrance than help when it comes to electing Democrats to office."
Jaime R. Harrison***	Chair, Democratic Party of South Carolina	• Emphasis on rebuilding local and state parties • Focus on activist outreach and education	"I'm not a Clinton Democrat. I'm not an Obama Democrat. I'm not a Sanders Democrat. I'm just a Democrat, one who is raising his son in ruby-red South Carolina and wants to make sure that the opportunities that I've been able to enjoy and the opportunities that so many working people are able to enjoy are ones that persist. And I know that all of those things are in danger with Donald Trump as president."
**Buckley dropped out of the race on February 18, 2017, and endorsed Ellison for the position. ***Harrison dropped out of the race on February 23, 2017, and endorsed Perez for the chairmanship.

Tom Perez reorganization

In May 2017, Politico reported on the DNC's reorganization under former Labor Secretary Tom Perez. According to the report, Perez's staffers, along with staff from Jaime Harrison and Keith Ellison began to reorganize the committee to encourage discussions across the organization. Harrison, former executive director of the Democratic Party of South Carolina, was also tasked with developing a 50-state strategy proposal. Perez's reorganization also included increasing communications and research operations with a focus on responding to claims made by Trump and other Republicans.

New CEO, May 2017

In May 2017, Perez hired former executive director of EMILY's List, Jessica O'Connell, as the party's new CEO. Buzzfeed reported that the reorganization with O'Connell was expected "to position the DNC as an ally in 2017 and 2018 races, a partner for activists in the movement to oppose Donald Trump's presidency, and an operation better equipped to function without relying on a Democrat in the White House."

New political director, June 2017

On June 9, 2017, the DNC hired Amanda Brown Lierman as their new political and organizing director. Lierman previously worked for President Barack Obama (D). According to Mic, she was a supporter of Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign. Upon her move to the DNC, she told Mic, "There's definitely a need to rebrand and restore faith that people have in the DNC. I hope people look toward this new leadership as a step and progress on that." Prior to joining the DNC, Lierman was the director of Rock the Vote in 2012, was the executive director of National Women's Business Council, and was the campaign director at For Our Future, super PAC focused on climate change policy.

Street-level opposition

Marches

• On December 27, 2016, the Queer Detainee Empowerment Project, an organization aiming to close detention centers nationwide, said it intended to oppose Trump's proposed immigration actions by "going out into the streets and doing rallies and actions and showing up to the Million Woman March and doing public appearances to show that LGBTQ and HIV-positive people have presence in this community and are not backing down."
• The Women's March on Washington was a peaceful demonstration for the day after Trump's inauguration as president. According to the march's website, the event was planned in response to what it called "rhetoric of the past election cycle [that] has insulted, demonized, and threatened many of us." The group's website explained the reasons for the march: "In the spirit of democracy and honoring the champions of human rights, dignity, and justice who have come before us, we join in diversity to show our presence in numbers too great to ignore. The Women’s March on Washington will send a bold message to our new government on their first day in office, and to the world that women's rights are human rights." The march in Washington, D.C., occurred at the same time as women's marches in cities across the U.S., including New York, New York; Boston, Massachusetts; Atlanta, Georgia; Denver, Colorado; Los Angeles, California; Phoenix, Arizona; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Key West, Florida.
• DisruptJ20—a group of Washington, D.C., activists—planned organized protests of Trump's inaugural events. Ahead of the January 20, 2017, inauguration, the group's website stated, "We call on all people of good conscience to join in disrupting the ceremonies. If Trump is to be inaugurated at all, let it happen behind closed doors, showing the true face of the security state Trump will preside over. It must be made clear to the whole world that the vast majority of people in the United States do not support his presidency or consent to his rule." The protests were aimed at shutting down entrances to the inauguration events, and some of the protesters were involved in altercations with Trump supporters during the ceremonies.
• On January 28 and 29, 2017, a number of protests were organized independently at airports across the United States to oppose a Trump executive order. The order indefinitely banned Syrian travel to the U.S., halted all refugee admission to the U.S. for 120 days, and ceased all immigration or travel activity to the United States for people from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
• February 16, 2017, was billed as A Day Without Immigrants, a protest that asked legal and undocumented immigrants to stay home from work in response to Trump's immigration policies. The protest was organized through social media and asked immigrant workers and students to not attend work, attend school, or shop.
• On April 15, 2017, Tax Day marches were organized in 12 cities around the country, with the largest happening in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and New York City. The marches were, in part, organized by the Working Families Party to protest Trump's decision to not release his tax returns to the public voluntarily. According to a spokesman for the Working Families Party, the marches were organized because of public interest in potential conflicts of interest concerning the president.
• On June 11, 2017, LGBTQ activists organized the Equality March in Washington, D.C., an event that was replicated in about 100 cities across the country. Reporting on the march, Time wrote in June 2017, "Activists have been embittered by the Trump administration's rollback of federal guidance advising school districts to let transgender students use the bathrooms and locker rooms of their choice."

Community organizations

Indivisible

• Indivisible, a volunteer organization, was organized in December 2016 with the publication of Indivisible: A Practical Guide for Resisting the Trump Agenda. The guide, written by former congressional staffers, was written as "a step-by-step guide for individuals, groups, and organizations looking to replicate the Tea Party’s success in getting Congress to listen to a small, vocal, dedicated group of constituents. The guide is intended to be equally useful for stiffening Democratic spines and weakening pro-Trump Republican resolve."

Black Lives Matter Global Network

See also: Black Lives Matter

• The Black Lives Matter Global Network, a group of organizations affiliated with Black Lives Matter, began opposing Trump's agenda through public education and training sessions for those choosing to protest the administration. Beginning during the week of Trump's inauguration, chapters of the network taught informational sessions on Trump's agenda as well as "Know Your Rights" training sessions. According to Mother Jones, the group partnered with legal experts to inform protesters on "everything from protest permit laws in DC to what a person's rights are when police give a dispersal order, and how to conduct yourself in jail if you do ultimately get arrested."
• The Washington, D.C., chapter had also planned a public information campaign designed to oppose Mayor Muriel Bowser's (D) plan to increase law enforcement hiring to combat the city's crime rate.

Campaign Zero

• Campaign Zero, an organization that advocating policy changes on policing, began organizing its opposition to Trump's agenda through state and local laws. The organization, according to Mother Jones, began to push for two specific types of laws: those "that empower state attorneys general to open civil rights investigations into local police departments" and those "that require a vote by a city council before a police department can accept military equipment from the federal government."

State opposition

Electoral College

• Electors in Colorado brought a suit to overturn a state law that bound them to vote for the presidential candidate that won the state, Hillary Clinton (D). The decision would have challenged the same laws in 28 other states. On December 13, 2016, Judge Elizabeth Starrs ruled that the law would not be overturned. Similar suits were filed in California and the state of Washington.
• On December 5, 2016, The New York Times published an opinion piece from Texas elector Christopher Suprun, who, despite being pledged to Trump, stated that he would not vote for Trump. Suprun wrote, "I believe electors should unify behind a Republican alternative, an honorable and qualified man or woman such as Gov. John Kasich of Ohio."
• On November 30, 2016, Politico reported on a movement to challenge the Electoral College and challenge the binding of members of the college. One of the groups spearheading the effort was the Hamilton Electors, which was established by two members of the college. The group was seeking to persuade 37 Republican electors not to cast their vote for Trump.
• In late November 2016, according to Politico, some Washington and Colorado Democratic Electoral College members attempted to block Trump's election or to become "faithless" voters—unbound by their state's election results—so as to "contribute to a sense of disarray and voter disenfranchisement" among voters.

State governments

California

• On December 7, 2016, the California State Legislature announced a bill that, according to the Sacramento Bee, would "prohibit state and local law enforcement, including school police and security departments, from using their resources for immigration enforcement." Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León said that the bill was a response to Trump's proposed immigration policies. He said, "To the millions of undocumented residents pursuing and contributing to the California dream, the state of California will be your wall of justice should the incoming administration adopt an inhumane and overreaching mass-deportation policy. We will not stand by and let the federal government use our state and local agencies to separate mothers from their children."
• Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said California would use state and federal environmental protection laws to prevent Trump from building a border wall with Mexico in California. On January 9, 2017, Newsom told San Francisco Magazine, "There’s something called CEQA [the California Environmental Quality Act] in California—NEPA at the federal level [the National Environmental Policy Act]. ... There’s indigenous lands and autonomies relating to governance on those lands. There are all kinds of obstructions as it relates to just getting zoning approval and getting building permits. All those things could be made very, very challenging for the administration."
• On June 1, 2017, the California State Legislature passed a bill that would prohibit state resources being used to enforce federal marijuana laws that conflict with the state's existing marijuana laws. Californians voted to legalize recreational marijuana in November 2016, and the legislation was proposed "to shield Californians complying with state cannabis regulations like those legally operating a shop selling pot from being detained, reported or arrested by state or local police," according to The Sacramento Bee.
• On June 6, 2017, after Trump ended U.S. involvement in the Paris Climate Agreement, California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed an agreement to work with China on lowering greenhouse gas emissions. The nonbinding agreement was intended to establish cooperation between China and the state on expanding renewable energy and low carbon development. Brown said, "California is the leading economic state in America and we are also the pioneering state on clean technology, cap and trade, electric vehicles and batteries, but we can’t do it alone. ... We need a very close partnership with China, with your businesses, with your provinces, with your universities."

Delaware

• On June 8, 2017, Delaware Governor John Carney (D) signed into law a bill that guaranteed legalized abortion in the state. According to The Associated Press, "The legislation approved Tuesday removes those restrictions and allows abortion without restriction before a fetus reaches viability. It defines viability as the point in a pregnancy when, in a doctor's 'good faith medical judgment,' there is a reasonable likelihood that the fetus can survive outside the uterus without 'extraordinary medical measures.'" State Sen. Bryan Townsend (D), the bill's author, told The Hill, "There is a real possibility that the federal framework around this is changed in coming years. ... With the possibility that the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade or other case law, we thought it was really important."

Hawaii

• On June 7, 2017, Hawaii Governor David Ige (D) signed two bills into law concerning climate change. The bills expanded strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and established a Carbon Farming Task Force for sustainable agricultural practices. According to The Washington Post, the bills were introduced after Trump's inauguration and were signed after Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement.

Maryland

• On February 15, 2017, the Maryland State Legislature passed a law that gave expanded authority to the state's attorney general to sue the federal government without the approval of the governor. According to The Baltimore Sun, the legislature granted the attorney general the authority to sue based on federal government "action or inaction that the attorney general deems an infringement of Marylanders' rights to health care, civil liberties, economic security, environment, immigration or international travel."

New York

• On February 6, 2017, the New York State Assembly passed a bill to make New York a sanctuary state, where state and local law enforcement would not assist federal immigration officers in deportations. Assemblyman Francisco Moya said in statement, "It is our job to respond to his call to build border walls with a wall of our own, one that protects diversity and acceptance that have always been at the core of our state. ... Not only is it a moral imperative to shelter every race or religion from bigotry, it is our obligation to protect the function of our local law enforcement and agencies." On February 7, New York Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan said it would not be brought for a vote in the state Senate.

Washington

• Gov. Jay Inslee (D) signed an executive order on February 23, 2017, that restricted the ability of state workers and organizations to assist in enforcing federal immigration laws. According to the Seattle Times, Inslee's order sought "to prevent the use of state resources to aid widespread deportations or the creation of a national Muslim registry." It did not, however, order any interference with existing federal laws or with federal criminal arrest warrants.

State attorneys general

California

• On August 14, 2017, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra sued the Justice Department over a change in rules regarding federal funding for sanctuary jurisdictions. The Justice Department had previously said that certain federal grants for law enforcement would not be available to jurisdictions unless they agreed to conditions related to holding for 48 hours those suspected of residing in the country without legal permission. The suit read, in part, "The Administration has threatened to withhold congressionally appropriated federal funds unless the State and local jurisdictions acquiesce to the President’s immigration enforcement demands. This is unconstitutional and should be halted." At a press conference announcing the lawsuit, Becerra said, "We abide by federal law. We respect the Constitution. The federal government should do the same. ... The federal government is using the threat of its power, of its size, to bully local jurisdictions to do what they want."
• California Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for its rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program on September 11, 2017, claiming that the Obama-era executive action was legal and to rescind it was to violate due process rights for those who sought protections under the program. California was joined in the suit by the attorneys general of Maine, Minnesota, and Maryland.
• On September 20, 2017, Becerra sued the Trump administration to block the administration's plan to build a wall on the border between the U.S. and Mexico in the state. The suit claimed that the administration violated the Tenth Amendment when it declared that the wall is an emergency justifying waiving certain environmental and contracting procedures. Becerra said, "They're violating the Tenth Amendment and infringing on a lot of state laws, not just federal laws, that affect our state. At the same time, they're trying to do something that only Congress can do."

Connecticut

• On January 23, 2017, a group of 17 state attorneys general, led by Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen (D), filed a motion to intervene in an appeal of PHH Corporation, et al. v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. That case appealed the ruling of a lower court that the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an agency created by the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010, was unconstitutional. The motion to intervene by the state attorneys general cited Trump's disapproval of Dodd-Frank and cited reports that Trump would abandon the appeal, which began under the administration of Barack Obama (D). The attorneys general argued that "the court's ruling [that the CFPB is unconstitutionally structured], if permitted to stand, would undermine the power of state attorneys general to effectively protect consumers against abuse in the consumer finance industry, and significantly lessen the ability of the CFPB to withstand political pressure and act effectively and independently of the President."

District of Columbia and Maryland

• On June 12, 2017, Attorney General for the District of Columbia Karl Racine (D) filed a lawsuit claiming that Trump violated the Constitution's emoluments clause by retaining ownership in the Trump Organization. Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh (D) joined Racine in the suit. The two indicated that they intended "to demand through the discovery process copies of Trump’s personal tax returns to gauge the extent of his foreign business dealings."

Hawaii

• On March 7, 2017, Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin (D) filed a lawsuit against Trump's second executive order banning travel from majority-Muslim countries. The lawsuit claimed, "The new executive order is resulting in the establishment of religion in the state of Hawaii contrary to its state constitution; it is inflicting immediate damage to Hawaii's economy, educational institutions, and tourism industry; and it is subjecting a portion of the state's citizens to second-class treatment and discrimination, while denying all Hawaii residents the benefits of an inclusive and pluralistic society," attorneys for the state argued in court filings."

Judge Derrick Kahala Watson ruled in favor of the state of Hawaii and issued a temporary restraining order on March 15, 2017. In issuing the restraining order, Watson commented on the Justice Department's defense that the order did not target Islam because those affected by the ban only constituted nine percent of the world's Muslims. Watson wrote, "The illogic of the Government’s contentions is palpable. The notion that one can demonstrate animus toward any group of people only by targeting all of them at once is fundamentally flawed. The Court declines to relegate its Establishment Clause analysis to a purely mathematical exercise."

Massachusetts

• Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey (D) joined a lawsuit first filed by the ACLU arguing that Trump's executive order halting immigration and some refugee settlement was unconstitutional. In a statement from January 31, 2017, Healey's office explained the suit's rationale, saying, "The lawsuit claims that the Executive Order violates federal law and calls on it to be declared unconstitutional – for taking the rights away from lawful residents as well as other visa holders without due process. According to the AG’s Office, the order discriminates against people on the basis of their country of origin and religion, without sufficient justification, and therefore violates the equal protection guarantee of the Fifth Amendment."
• On July 6, 2017, Healey and 18 other state attorneys general sued Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who had delayed the implementation of a rules change concerning federal student debt for those defrauded by colleges. The Washington Post reported in July 2017, "The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court on Thursday, accuses the Education Department of violating federal law by halting updates to a regulation known as the borrower defense to repayment. The rule, which dates to the 1990s, wipes away federal loans for students whose colleges used illegal or deceptive tactics to get them to borrow money to attend. The Obama administration revised it last year to simplify the claims process and shift more of the cost of discharging loans onto schools."

New York

• New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D) told Politico on January 8, 2017, that he considered his office to be the first line of defense against the Trump administration. The article reported that Schneiderman was "watching the activities of Trump’s federal agencies closely, prepared to launch suits or serve as a regulator itself at signs of relaxed regulation enforcement by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Environmental Protection Agency or Department of Labor."
• On January 31, 2017, Schneiderman joined a lawsuit filed by the ACLU on behalf of two Iraqi refugees detained in a New York City airport after Trump signed an executive order that halted immigration and some refugee settlement. Schneiderman said, "I'm proud to partner with these organizations to fight to permanently strike down this dangerous and discriminatory order. I will continue to do everything in my power to not just fight this executive order, but to protect the families caught in the chaos sown by President Trump's hasty and irresponsible implementation – including pressing DHS and CBP to provide a full list of those still detained and allow them access to legal service providers."
• On September 6, 2017, Schneiderman led a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security claiming that the department's decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was illegal. The lawsuit argued that the memo rescinding DACA violated the Fifth Amendment because it "target[ed] individuals for discriminatory treatment based on their national origin, without lawful justification" and did not contain a prohibition against "the use of information contained in DACA applications and renewal requests for purposes of immigration enforcement". The lawsuit also argued that the federal agencies responsible for the memo "acted arbitrarily and capriciously, and otherwise not in accordance with law, and have abused their discretion" in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act. The lawsuit asked the court to place a preliminary injunction on the memo and prevent DACA from being rescinded. Schneiderman was joined by the attorneys general in Massachusetts, Washington, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington, D.C., Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia.

Virginia

• On January 31, 2017, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring (D) joined Aziz v. Trump, a lawsuit aimed at Trump's executive order that halted immigration and some refugee settlement. Herring said, "The Commonwealth has substantial interests justifying its intervention, and make no mistake, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and our people, are already being harmed by this Executive Order. As we speak, there are students at our colleges and universities who are unable to return to Virginia. We have professors, researchers, and employees at our colleges and universities and Virginia businesses who either cannot enter the country, or who will be barred from returning should they leave."

Washington

• On January 30, 2017, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson (D) announced that he was suing the Trump administration, claiming that Trump's executive order that halted immigration and some refugee settlement was unconstitutional. In a statement announcing the lawsuit, Ferguson said, "If successful it would have the effect of invalidating the president's unlawful action nationwide. ... At the end of the day, either you're abiding by the Constitution or you are not. And in our view, the president is not adhering to the Constitution when it comes to this executive action."

The lawsuit, which was joined by Minnesota's attorney general, listed nine causes of action, three of which challenged the order’s constitutionality. These three challenges were:

• That the executive order “was motivated by animus and a desire to harm a particular group” and therefore violates the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection.
• “Sections 3 and 5 of the Executive Order, together with statements made by Defendants concerning their intent and application, are intended to disfavor Islam and favor Christianity.” This portion of the lawsuit claims the executive order violates the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of religion.
• That the order denies the Fifth Amendment right to due process, which is “applicable to arriving and present non-citizens.”

On February 3, 2017, Judge James Robart of the U.S. District Court of Western Washington issued a temporary restraining order on a nationwide basis, meaning that many of the key provisions of the executive order were suspended until the full case could be heard. Democratic attorneys general from California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia filed an amicus curiae brief on February 6, 2017, supporting the lawsuit.

The Justice Department appealed the decision, and on February 9, 2017, a three-judge panel for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the block.

• On March 9, 2017, days after Trump issued a revised version of the executive order that omitted Iraq and included more information about who the travel ban would affect, Ferguson asked a judge to apply the temporary restraining order from the previous executive order to the new one. In an interview with NPR, Ferguson said that the state's challenge to the new order was based on the same argument that Trump's order was religious discrimination against Muslims. Ferguson added, "Is it a narrower group of people who are impacted by the travel ban, the revised one? You bet," Ferguson told NPR. "But just because it's a smaller number of individuals who are impacted, that doesn't mean you can solve a constitutional problem of the magnitude that the revised ban still has."

Local opposition

Sanctuary cities

Sanctuary cities are cities that have enacted policies limiting the involvement of local officials in the enforcement of federal immigration law. On December 12, 2016, a Politico report detailed 37 sanctuary cities that had reaffirmed their sanctuary status after Trump threatened to pull federal funding to sanctuary cities. The report indicated that four additional cities (Santa Ana, California; Burlington, Vermont; Montpelier, Vermont; and Winooski, Vermont) issued formal declarations of their sanctuary status after the 2016 presidential election. The following cities reaffirmed their sanctuary status in late 2016:

• Appleton, Wisconsin
• Ashland, Oregon
• Aurora, Colorado
• Austin, Texas
• Berkeley, California
• Boston, Massachusetts
• Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Chicago, Illinois
• Denver, Colorado
• Detroit, Michigan
• Evanston, Illinois
• Hartford, Connecticut
• Jersey City, New Jersey
• Los Angeles, California
• Madison, Wisconsin
• Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Nashville, Tennessee
• New Haven, Connecticut
• New York, New York
• Newark, New Jersey
• Newton, Massachusetts
• Oakland, California
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Phoenix, Arizona
• Portland, Oregon
• Providence, Rhode Island
• Richmond, California
• San Francisco, California
• Santa Fe, New Mexico
• Seattle, Washington
• Somerville, Massachusetts
• St. Paul, Minnesota
• Syracuse, New York
• Takoma Park, Maryland
• Tucson, Arizona
• Washington, D.C.

Los Angeles, California

• In January 2017, Sheila Kuehl, a Democratic member of the county board of supervisors, began encouraging a slowdown of any local government dealings with the federal government, a policy she called Operation Monkey Wrench. She told The New York Times, "I am encouraging people to engage in any way they can to slow down anything that might come from the federal departments and Congress."
• On December 20, 2016, Los Angeles announced a $10 million fund to provide legal support for immigrants facing deportation. Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) said, "We don't know how far the new administration will go when it comes to our nation's immigration policy, but we've all heard the rhetoric, the dangerous rhetoric of the election. And we are ready to support people who can't afford or who don't realize they might need a lawyer."
• On November 16, 2016, Police Chief Charlie Beck said that he would continue the city's policy of not initiating police contact based on suspicions about a person's immigration status. He said, "Policing is local, and the feds can’t dictate how they’re going to function."

Santa Clara County, California

On February 3, 2017, Santa Clara County, California, sued the Trump administration for its executive order that cities declaring themselves sanctuary cities were "not eligible to receive Federal grants, except as deemed necessary for law enforcement purposes by the Attorney General or the Secretary." The suit challenged the order's constitutionality in four distinct charges, claiming that the executive order:

• "[S]eizes for the President and the executive branch the power of the federal purse, which belongs exclusively to Congress under Article I, section 8, clause 1 of our federal Constitution."
• "[I]s too vague to provide the County with reasonable notice of what it must do to comply with its terms and avoid unspecified 'enforcement actions.'"
• "[D]enies the County the procedural due process protections afforded to it by the Fifth Amendment."
• "[V]iolates the Tenth Amendment and the federalism principles that animate our governmental structure."

On April 25, 2017, U.S. District Court Judge William Orrick III issued a preliminary injunction blocking the portion of the executive order that cut funding to sanctuary cities. The judge's ruling read, in part, "The Constitution vests the spending power in Congress, not the President, so the Order cannot constitutionally place new conditions on federal funds."

Seattle, Washington

• On March 29, 2017 the city of Seattle, Washington, sued the Trump administration over the administration's policies toward sanctuary cities. Seattle Mayor Ed Murray said the suit concerned Trump's January 25, 2017, executive order that ended federal funding for sanctuary jurisdictions. Murray said, "Seattle will not be bullied by this White House or this administration, and today we are taking legal action against President Trump’s unconstitutional order. We have the law on our side: The federal government cannot compel our police department to enforce federal immigration law and cannot use our federal dollars to coerce Seattle into turning our backs on our immigrant and refugee communities. We simply won’t do it."

Local calls for impeachment

In May 2017, Politico reported that at least ten local governments across the country had passed resolutions calling for Trump's impeachment. Free Speech for the People, a group out of Amherst, Massachusetts, organized a guide for local governments on how to draft the resolutions. Although local governments do not have authority to impeach the president, the resolutions were written to pressure members of the U.S. House to begin the impeachment process. According to Politico, the following local governments had passed impeachment resolutions as of May 2017:

• Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Brookline, Massachusetts
• Amherst, Massachusetts
• Pelham, Massachusetts
• Leverett, Massachusetts
• Los Angeles, California
• Richmond, California
• Alameda, California
• Berkeley, California

Chicago, Illinois

• On August 7, 2017, the city of Chicago sued the Trump administration over a Justice Department policy change that made self-designated sanctuary cities ineligible for certain law enforcement grants from the federal government. The department regulations were designed to require local jurisdictions to give federal immigration officers 48 hours before releasing a detainee who is wanted by federal immigration enforcement. Ed Siskel, a senior legal advisor for Mayor Rahm Emanuel said of the lawsuit, "We are bringing this legal challenge because the rhetoric, the threats from this administration embodied in these new conditions imposed on unrelated public safety grants funds are breeding a culture and climate of fear."
  • Los Angeles, California; San Francisco, California; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, filed similar lawsuits against the Justice Department over this particular rule concerning department grants.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Opposition to Donald Trump'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Opposition to the Trump administration, 2017 - Google News

See also

• Donald Trump