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Fast Company
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Fast Company
How Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is shaping the legal resistance to Trump
In 2014, five years before Dana Nessel became the attorney general of Michigan—back when she was still running her own law firm—she took on a pivotal case challenging the state's ban on same-sex marriage and adoption by same-sex couples. The case put her in direct opposition to her predecessor and attorney general at the time, Bill Schuette, who she says fought 'tooth and nail' to uphold the state law. During the trial, Schuette hired experts who used spurious anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric to defend the law. '[They] said that gay people were going to hell,' Nessel recalls. 'On the stand—under oath, getting paid by our tax dollars—they made arguments that same-sex couples couldn't appreciate the sanctity of marriage. Another argument was that the children of same-sex couples would be more likely to go to prison, or become addicted to drugs or alcohol, or become criminals. I had to sit there with my future wife, who was at the table with me and also worked on the case, and listen to these arguments being made.' Nessel ultimately won the case, which was then consolidated with other lawsuits and appealed to the Supreme Court as part of the landmark case Obergefell v. Hodges, paving the way for the national legalization of same-sex marriage. In 2019, when she assumed the role of attorney general, Nessel became the first openly LGBTQ+ person elected to statewide office in Michigan—as well as the first Democrat to hold the position in over 15 years. An office that represents each and every person Coming into the role, she felt strongly about sharply deviating from Schuette's record. 'I wanted my department to operate in a very different way than the office had operated under him and his predecessor, which was very discriminatory against the LGBTQ community,' she says. 'Case after case after case, they took the side of discrimination. I wanted it to be an office that represented each and every person in my state and thought that the Department of Attorney General should be used to advance people's rights and not to impugn them. So that's what I tried to do.' In the six years since she took office, Nessel has made a name for herself in Michigan as a progressive darling and a fierce critic of President Trump, dating back to his first term in office. In 2022, Nessel successfully argued a case before the Michigan Supreme Court that people should be protected against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity under the state's civil rights law. Over the years, Nessel has worked with legislators to advance multiple bills intended to mitigate gun violence, which have now been enacted into law. She supported the charges brought after the 2021 mass shooting at Oxford High School in southeast Michigan, which set a legal precedent for demanding accountability from the parents of a school shooter. Nessel also continued to push for further scrutiny of the school's responsibility and is currently overseeing an investigation alongside local prosecutors. In December, she joined a coalition of attorneys general as part of a concerted effort to hold the firearms industry accountable for its role in perpetuating gun violence. After Roe v. Wade fell, Nessel refused to enforce an abortion ban dating back to 1931 that was still technically in effect in Michigan. The law has since been struck down, and Michigan voters also passed a constitutional amendment to enshrine access to abortion care; the state has also repealed a number of TRAP laws that imposed stringent restrictions on people seeking abortions. 'It's easy to lose sight of the fact that we did make some progress, even in areas where it seems like we've lost significant rights,' Nessel says of the state's progress on abortion access. 'It's sort of paradoxical, but in some ways, in Michigan, [after] that decision, we actually have more rights when it comes to access to reproductive care.' Nessel has presided over a number of high-profile cases, including an investigation into how Michigan State University handled allegations of sexual abuse brought against Larry Nassar and lawsuits brought against opioid distributors and the leading manufacturers of PFAS, otherwise known as forever chemicals. Early into her tenure, she established a hate crimes unit in response to an uptick in incidents across the state of Michigan. She has also faced her share of criticism, particularly in recent months, following her decision to pursue multiple cases involving pro-Palestinian activists—and at a time when the Trump administration has explicitly cracked down on student protesters who support Palestine. The attorney general's office had brought a case against student protesters who were arrested at the University of Michigan last year, though the charges were recently dropped by Nessel. The office is, however, still pursuing charges against activists who allegedly vandalized the homes of university officials and a handful of businesses. 'It's about me investigating and prosecuting people who are alleged to have committed crimes, period,' Nessel says of the vandalism cases. 'And I would do this if these individuals supported LGBTQ rights; I would do it the exact same way if they supported reproductive rights. I would do it irrespective of whatever cause they support. It's not their rationale for having committed these crimes—it's their actions. That's my job. I'm the top law enforcement officer in the state, and I take that job very seriously.' 'This administration has absolutely no regard for the law' Perhaps most notably, Nessel has emerged as a formidable figure in the legal resistance to the Trump administration. 'In no way, shape, or form does this resemble a normal presidency,' Nessel says of Trump's return to the White House. 'This administration just has absolutely no regard for the law or the Constitution or any of our American governmental norms, and they've continued to break down all of our societal norms that I would submit are the things that make America great. So it concerns me when I see elected leaders who treat President Trump as though he is a good faith actor.' Nessel's approach is also notable as a stark contrast to how Michigan's governor has responded to Trump in his second term. Prior to his inauguration, Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat who sparred with Trump in his first term, indicated she would find ways to work with him, citing the fact that Michigan helped elect him—a reversal from her posture prior to the election. 'I don't want to pretend like we'll always agree, but I will always seek collaboration first,' Whitmer said in January. 'I won't go looking for fights, but I won't back down from them either. I'm not here to play games. I've got a job to do.' Since then, Whitmer has visited the White House and met with Trump multiple times, leading the president to openly praise her and note that she had done 'an excellent job' in her capacity as governor. (During the pandemic, Trump had insulted her and described her as 'that woman in Michigan.') 'The governor and I are independently elected office holders,' Nessel says. 'I don't tell her how to do her job, and she doesn't tell me how to do mine.' But she adds that she has 'grave concerns about the policy of appeasement' and believes that Trump can't be trusted to keep his promises about how he could help the state of Michigan. While Whitmer has engaged with Trump, Nessel has secured several temporary injunctions to push back on his administration's attempts to curtail crucial federal funding allocated to the state; she has also joined many lawsuits brought alongside other attorneys general, targeting Trump's executive order to limit birthright citizenship and the mass layoffs he ordered across the federal workforce. 'These orders are just ridiculous' Trump's prolonged attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts have also led him to target state and local education agencies: In a memo last month, the administration ordered public schools to eliminate DEI programs or risk losing their federal funding. Nessel was among a coalition of attorneys general who sued in response to prevent the education department from withholding financial support from states like Michigan, which was allocated nearly $1.3 billion in federal funding for fiscal year 2024. 'The orders from the federal government are just ridiculous on their face,' she says. 'They don't even define what they consider to be diversity, equity, and inclusion. Even if one desperately wanted to comply with the federal orders, it would be impossible to do so because there's no real definition of it. To simply eliminate all of this incredibly important programming and then to threaten our educational systems, whether we're talking about K-12 [or] colleges and universities—it's just so horrific to do that in no sane way and with no interest in looking to see if this is a program that is effective and is actively helping the community that it purports to serve.' Of course it's not just formal diversity programs in schools or corporate DEI initiatives that have been a target under this administration. Since his first term, Trump has chipped away at LGBTQ+ rights, escalating many of those efforts in the past few months by issuing wide-ranging executive orders that restrict access to gender-affirming care, erase protections for queer students, and ban transgender people from the military—a policy that was upheld by a Supreme Court ruling in May. In this moment of intense backlash and upheaval, Nessel feels an especially urgent responsibility to stay the course and advocate for the LGBTQ+ constituents that she represents. 'It's more important than ever to have people in these positions who are representatives of the communities and who are fighters for the community,' she says. 'So that people know you do still have somebody in your corner, and you have people who are willing to file these lawsuits and willing to fight on behalf of [those] who oftentimes feel like they have no voice. That's what I've done the entire time I've been in office—and that's what I'm going to continue to do.'
Coin Geek
29-05-2025
- Business
- Coin Geek
Michigan's new bills ban CBDC, permit state to invest in ‘crypto'
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Michigan has become the latest U.S. state to push digital asset regulations, with four new bills landing in the State Senate to promote BTC mining and ban the looming digital dollar. With House Bill 4510, the Great Lakes State seeks to pave the way for the state treasurer to invest in digital assets. Introduced by Bill Schuette, the Republican State Rep. for the 95th district, the new bill amends the state's retirement system investment laws to allow investment in digital assets. However, it limits investment to assets that have averaged a market cap of at least $250 billion over the past calendar year. The bill also outlines that the state can only hold digital assets as exchange-traded products issued by registered companies. This stipulation comes at a time when spot ETFs have exploded in the U.S. and now hold over $50 billion in assets. Michigan's Bureau of Investment, which the state treasurer oversees, held $165 billion by the end of 2024, most of which is from the public retirement systems. Michigan joins dozens of states racing to implement digital asset reserves in response to a similar push at the federal level by President Donald Trump. In February, two State Senators introduced a bill allowing the Michigan state government to establish a BTC reserve. It limited the investment to 10% of the assets, which would be around $17 billion by the latest figures. Michigan bans the digital dollar In the second proposed bill, House Bill 4511, the state seeks to ban the digital dollar, again aligning with Trump's position against the proposed sovereign digital currency. The bill 'prohibits the advocacy or support through certain actions by certain state governmental officers and entities of a central bank digital currency by the United States government.' Introduced by Republican Rep. Bryan Posthumus, the bill mirrors dozens of others across the U.S. that have sought to halt any prospective digital dollar at the state level. The earliest opposition came from Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis led anti-CBDC campaigns years before Trump's election. While several states have advanced bills resisting the digital dollar, the central bank digital currency (CBDC) is unlikely to see the light of day under the Trump presidency. Upon retaking office earlier this year, Trump signed an executive order prohibiting the Fed from launching a CBDC, which he argued 'threatens the stability of the financial system.' Beyond the CBDC, the same bill also prohibits Michigan from banning digital assets or denying licenses to holders. The state must also not prohibit the operation of blockchain nodes or participation in staking. The other two bills, House Bill 4512 and House Bill 4513, focus on block reward mining. The first will permit the revival of abandoned oil and gas wells to mine BTC, and the second will expand the tax laws to accommodate income from such mining activities. The miners would shoulder the costs of well restoration, with the State's Supervisor of Wells having jurisdiction over the sector. The block reward mining bills come amid a rise in anti-mining campaigns across the U.S. and beyond by local communities. In dozens of ongoing lawsuits, these communities have accused miners of noise pollution, which they say is pushing them away from their homes. Russia pushes miners to the north amid power shortages Meanwhile, in Russia, the Ministry of Energy plans to push BTC miners to the northern regions as it navigates power shortages in the more densely populated eastern and southern regions. In an interview with state-owned news agency TASS, Deputy Minister Yevgeny Grabchak revealed that the government intends to incentivize miners to relocate to the north. Russia's north is the least populated region, with harsh weather—especially its severe winters—mostly to blame. However, the region also has the most abundant natural resources, including oil and gas. '[The north] is where we can think about something with miners, put them there and consider the possibility of a network tariff. But this is not a benefit as such, but a different principle of tariff formation,' the minister stated. In particular, the ministry intends to relocate the miners to power grid centers whose capacity was previously used to mine oil. Repurposing unused or excess electricity to mine digital assets is becoming common globally. The U.S., Pakistan, Japan and Germany are among the countries that have announced new initiatives to leverage the surplus capacity to mine BTC. Watch: Finding ways to use CBDC outside of digital currencies title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen="">
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Michigan lawmakers consider bills to deter ‘foreign influence'
State Rep. Luke Meerman (R-Coopersville) discussing legislation to prohibit foreign entities from acquiring agricultural land or property within 20 miles of critical infrastructure in the state. Michigan House photo. Lawmakers in Michigan's state House are considering bills that would ban certain partnerships with certain foreign entities deemed to pose threats to national security and also ban such entities from purchasing land in Michigan. Namely, the bills would target citizens and representatives of China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, and Syria as Rep. Bill Schuette (R-Midland) told lawmakers on the state House Government Operations Committee Thursday, saying such nations actively try to gain influence and control through infiltrating state economies and institutions. 'I can tell you these countries, they don't play fair. They use every single lever of power, be that economic, cultural or coercive, to jeopardize our nation's strength,' Schuette said, pointing at some recent examples in Michigan. One area of particular concern to the committee was the 2023 incident where five Chinese nationals who were also students at the University of Michigan photographed training facilities at Camp Grayling, a National Guard training facility in northern Michigan. There have been other instances of Chinese nationals taking photos of military bases in restricted areas throughout the U.S. and others who were also students through the University of Michigan. The university has since ended a partnership with Shanghai Jiao Tong University which permitted academic exchanges, with U of M President Santa J. Ono citing 'national security' as the reason for the separation. Part of the legislation being proposed includes prohibitions on foreign entities and non-citizens from purchasing farmland or property within 20 miles of a military base or key facilities like a water treatment facility, telecommunication facility or transportation facility. Agriculture is one of Michigan's top industries and not only do Michigan residents depend on its preservation, but so does the rest of the country that benefits from its domestic food production, bill sponsor Rep. Gina Johnsen (R-Lake Odessa) told the committee Thursday. 'This bill is a critical step in safeguarding Michigan's agricultural lands from foreign foreign entities that may not have the best interests of our state, our farmers or our national security…There is growing concern about foreign ownership of ag land, particularly by entities from countries that may pose economic or security threats to the United States,' Johnsen said. 'This bill is not about creating unnecessary barriers or fostering anti foreign sentiment. It is about protecting Michigan's resources and ensuring that our agricultural lands remain in the hands of those who are invested in the well being of Michigan and the nation.' The ACLU of Michigan particularly opposes the land-related bills, House Bills 4233 and 4234, as the organization's Legislative Director Kyle Zawacki said the bills threaten civil liberties and economic fairness, inviting prejudice on the basis of a person's national origin or perceived foreign origin. The bills conflate a person with a government, Zawacki said, noting that not every resident of a country agrees with the actions of their leaders. 'Penalizing people simply because of their nationality contradicts fundamental American values of fairness and non discrimination,' Zawacki said. 'Singling out individuals based on the actions of a foreign government is not only unjust, but also risks exacerbating xenophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment. Protecting national security and upholding constitutional rights are not mutually exclusive goals.' Other bills lawmakers are reviewing include ones related to education and economic endeavors. House Bill 4238 would limit public schools from entering into agreements with foreign countries of concern or accepting grants from such countries if such interactions promote agendas that are 'detrimental to the security of the United States or its residents'. The bill aims to keep 'anti-America' agendas out of schools and universities, bill sponsor Rep. Nancy Jenkins-Arno (R-Rollin Township) told the committee. 'House Bill 4238 is a straightforward common sense measure to make sure we keep countries of concern out of our educational system,' Jenkins-Arno said. 'One of the core functions of government is protecting citizens. The most valuable of our citizens is our kids.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
