Arizona's attorney general and her gang want to beat Trump at his game
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and attorney general pals from other states scored another victory in court this week over King Donald when a federal judge blocked a Trump administration funding freeze on federal grants.
Mayes released a statement saying, 'This was an illegal and reckless attempt to withhold critical funding that states rely on to serve their communities. This ruling is a victory for Arizonans and millions of Americans who depend on these essential federal funds.
'I won't stand by while the Trump administration puts itself above Congress and withholds resources that families, public safety, and healthcare providers depend on.'
That's good. But it is not good enough, and Mayes knows it.
In addition to being a very fine attorney, Mayes understands politics.
She knows that it in addition to winning in court, you have to win in the court of public opinion, just as Trump has done. He has managed to convince Americans that he is working in their best interest while doing just the opposite.
Mayes and her gang of Democratic attorneys general want to reach out to those people, hear from those feeling the pain of Elon Musk's chainsaw approach to downsizing. To do that, they are taking their show on the road.
Mayes, along with Attorneys General Keith Ellison of Minnesota, Dan Rayfield of Oregon and Raul Torrez of New Mexico held what they called a Community Impact Hearing before a crowd of about 400 people on Wednesday at Central High School.
They're planning other stops in other states.
The idea is to let regular people tell their stories, to let them vent about the impact that unchecked funding cuts and layoffs are having on people Trump courted before the election.
For example, veterans.
At the AGs' town hall in Phoenix, a veteran named Tim Cox, who works at the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, said he expects to be laid off sometime soon, along with 90% of the office's workforce, and added, 'OFCC is the only federal agency that takes complaints of discrimination from veterans, and this is reducing our agency down to nothing. In less than two months, this administration has proven itself to be the most anti-veteran administration.'
Lawsuits aimed at protecting those who are harmed by unjustified cuts are important. In fact, Mayes announced on Thursday that she and her associate attorneys general filed another lawsuit, this one against the mass layoffs of federal probationary employees.
Opinion: Musk should cut his own handouts before Social Security
Also important, however, is hearing from the people harmed and spreading the word.
As Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said, 'We believe the public doesn't like a lot of things that have been happening from Washington. You have a chance to tell your truth, to listen to your neighbors.'
This is particularly important since Republican members of Congress are being told not to hold town halls after GOP representatives who did so recently were confronted by constituents furious over the Trump administration cuts.
Mayes gets this.
It's why at the town hall with other AGs, she took a shot at a couple of Arizona's Republican members of Congress, saying, 'Where is (Rep.) David Schweikert? Where is (Rep.) Juan Ciscomani? If I have to, I'll go hold the town hall in David Schweikert's district, or Juan Ciscomani's district, if that's what it takes to give his constituents the right to speak out about this.'
The AGs are doing what Democrats in Washington should be doing. They're going on the offensive, daring Trump's sycophants in Congress to explain their fealty in light of the misery and confusion and chaos it's causing.
Because there's an old saying in politics: If you're explaining, you're losing.
Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Trump funding cuts are unpopular, and Democrat AGs know it | Opinion
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