Latest news with #KrisMayes
The Independent
7 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Court blocks Trump's tariffs and says president ‘exceeded his authority'
A three-judge panel of the U.S. court of International Trade ruled that President Trump"exceeded his authority" by imposing tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada, and China, as well as his "Liberation Day" tariffs. The court found that Trump 's tariffs exceeded the authority granted to presidents under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and that they did not address a specific national emergency as required by law. The judges ruled the tariffs would be "vacated" and permanently blocked the government from enforcing them, granting summary judgment to the plaintiffs, which included attorneys general from twelve states and several small American companies. Kris Mayes, the attorney general of Arizona, celebrated the ruling, stating that the President does not have the authority to implement tariffs unilaterally. A White House spokesperson criticized the ruling, claiming the court had not disputed that foreign countries' nonreciprocal treatment fueled America's trade deficits, which created a national emergency, and that the administration is committed to using every lever of executive power to address the crisis.
The Independent
28-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
US trade court rules Trump exceeded his authority with ‘Liberation Day' tariffs
A three-judge panel on a U.S. trade court has ruled that President Donald Trump exceeded his authority when he put in place his widespread tariffs on April 2, which he dubbed 'Liberation Day.' The panel stated that Congress didn't delegate to the president the authority to set tariffs. Twelve states urged the court to strike down Trump's taxes on imports, arguing that he exceeded his authority. The attorney general of one of those states, Kris Mayes of Arizona, took to X on Wednesday night to celebrate the news. 'Big news! The US Court of International Trade just struck down Trump's illegal tariff scheme as invalid under [the International Emergency Economic Powers Act],' Mayes wrote. 'The president does not have the authority to implement tariffs unilaterally. Glad to have co-led this case with Oregon to protect Arizona families and small biz.' The court order states that the Constitution hands Congress the exclusive power to 'lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises.'
Axios
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Lawsuit challenges Arizona abortion limits
A new lawsuit seeks to overturn a trio of abortion restrictions based on the sweeping reproductive rights measure Arizona voters approved last year. The big picture: Voters in November overwhelmingly passed Proposition 139, which guarantees the right to an abortion through fetal viability, which is generally around 24 weeks. The amendment to the Arizona Constitution also prohibits any law that "denies, restricts or interferes" with abortion access before fetal viability, unless it's justified by a compelling state interest and "achieved by the least restrictive means." Yes, but: The abortion rights guaranteed by the measure don't go into effect automatically, and laws restricting abortion rights must be challenged in court before they can be struck down under Prop. 139. Why it matters: Abortion rights advocates have long argued that many state laws are unnecessarily restrictive and needlessly make it more difficult to get an abortion. Catch up quick: Under Prop. 139, abortion rights advocates quickly targeted the state's 15-week abortion ban, which a judge struck down in March, and pledged future lawsuits against other restrictions that Arizona enacted through the years. Driving the news: A lawsuit filed in Maricopa County Superior Court on Thursday by two doctors and the Arizona Medical Association argued that various laws and sets of restrictions are in violation of Prop. 139. Those laws: Prohibit abortions because of nonfatal genetic abnormalities in the fetus Require patients to get an ultrasound at least 24 hours before an abortion, which forces them to make multiple trips to a provider, and require doctors to provide information about abortion alternatives Ban telehealth for abortion and prohibit the mailing of abortion pills What's next: The Arizona Attorney General's Office is reviewing the new lawsuit and hasn't decided yet whether it will defend the laws, spokesperson Richie Taylor told Axios. The Center for Arizona Policy (CAP), a conservative nonprofit that champions anti-abortion laws, also has not yet determined whether it would intervene in the lawsuit if Attorney General Kris Mayes declines to defend the laws, president Peter Gentala told Axios. The Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative group that recently defended the genetic abnormalities law and a fetal personhood law in court, couldn't immediately be reached for comment. Mayes agreed the 15-week ban violated Prop. 139. What they're saying: "Arizona voters took back the power to make their own reproductive health care decisions. Yet they still must jump through hoops to get abortion care," Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights which represents some plaintiffs in the case, said in a press statement. "These burdensome restrictions have been in place for far too long, so we're going to court to strike them down once and for all."
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kris Mayes must drop her case against Arizona's bumbling fake electors
The judge has sent the fake electors' case back to the grand jury. Now, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes needs to call it quits. The case never should have been brought in the first place. The 'alternate' slate of electors was a dumb Republican stunt that didn't fool anyone. It's doubtful that the so-called fake electors even thought their plot would work. Were they nuttier than we think? It's been four years since the original sin. Nobody got hurt, and I'm pretty darn sure I wasn't deprived of my right to vote and to have my vote counted. Jim McManus, Phoenix It is graduation time. As a retired teacher with 17 years of experience in Arizona public schools, I worry. I've witnessed firsthand how unprepared many students are when it comes to managing money. They leave high school knowing how to dissect a frog but not how to make good investments, read a credit-card statement, create a budget or understand interest rates. That has to change. We are ill serving our young people and ourselves by failing to provide basic financial education as early as elementary school. Personal finance — budgeting, saving, credit, loans and taxes — should be required before graduation. Arizona's entire economy will benefit from it. The Legislature should act to make financial literacy a high school graduation requirement. Let's stop sending students into the world financially illiterate. Why should the children of the wealthy be the only one to know the secret to financial success? Mary Patton, Tucson House Speaker Steve Montenegro is blocking the bipartisan Senate Bill 1234 that would define basic standards of care for animals in Arizona. It passed the Senate 22-4 and cleared a House committee, yet Montenegro won't allow a floor vote. This is not leadership. It's sabotage. This bill addresses a serious gap in Arizona law exposed by the Chandler 55 case, where dogs endured suffering because food, water and shelter weren't clearly defined. SB 1234 protects companion animals while explicitly exempting agricultural, working and unhoused individuals' animals. It defines water as suitable for drinking, food as appropriate for the species and fit for consumption, and shelter as natural or artificial that keeps the dog from injury or disease. By refusing to move this forward, Speaker Montenegro is siding with cruelty over compassion. Is that really the Arizona we want? The people of Arizona — and their pets — deserve better. Douglas Abramowitz, Scottsdale Last week I took a road trip to Manzanar in the Owens Valley of California. It was the site of an internment camp that held more than 120,000 Japanese-American prisoners. It's a beautiful setting for such a sad chapter in our nation's past. More letters: Republicans are turning Arizona into a Christian nanny state Touring the museum brought tears to my eyes, seeing what the inhabitants endured, and how they made the best of the situation. Some appealed their cases all the way to the Supreme Court, and several won. There's also a short auto tour, passing various sites (gardens, barracks, cemetery). It was a worthwhile trip, and a very relevant history. Bekke Hess, Bullhead City Ashli Babbitt was the only person to die during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Which was tragic. But now there are reports that the Trump Justice Department will pay her family $5 million to settle a lawsuit. That is completely wrong. If we recall, she was at the door of a hallway that leads to the House floor. The door's window was shattered, and the Capitol police officer stationed there repeatedly warned the rioters — including Babbitt — not to enter. She ignored those warnings, and the officer shot her. She is not the 'martyr' that Trump claims her to be; she was a criminal who ignored the law and multiple warnings. Giving her family any kind of settlement, let alone $5 million, is another attempt by Trump and his minions to rewrite the history of that horrible day, a day instigated by Trump himself, a day designed to overturn a free and fair election. It was not the 'beautiful day' that Trump calls it. It was an American tragedy saved by Mike Pence's heroic stand against Trump's unconstitutional desires. Mike McClellan, Gilbert What's on your mind? Send us a letter to the editor online or via email at opinions@ This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Fake electors pulled a dumb stunt. Arizona should let it go | Letters
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Sober Living Scheme: Arizona Attorney General addresses Medicaid fraud
The Brief Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes sat down with FOX 10 Investigator Justin Lum to talk about the state's Sober Living Crisis. The crisis, along with the scandal involving the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), could ultimately cost the state $2 billion. "This is going to take years to fix," AG Mayes said. PHOENIX - As fallout from the Sober Living Crisis and the scandal involving Arizona's Medicaid agency that ultimately cost the state $2 billion continues, Attorney General Kris Mayes sat down with us to talk about the situation. The backstory Attorney General Mayes sat down for the interview after nearly 20 people, a behavioral health provider and a church are accused of defrauding the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) for $60 million. While AG Mayes could not get into specifics of the case, we know that, according to investigators, Happy House Behavioral Health and other defendants allegedly conspired by patient brokering and using sober living homes to take advantage of Medicaid members. The suspects are also accused of wiring millions of dollars to Hope of Life International Church and an entity in Rwanda, which is a country located in Africa. The defendants have pleaded not guilty. What they're saying Attorney Joshua Kolsrud, who represents Pastor Theodore Macuranyana, released a statement in connection with Macuranyana's indictment. Kolsrud's statement reads: "Kolsrud Law Offices condemns the Arizona Attorney General's Office for its unjust indictment of Pastor Theodore Macuranyana, a respected community leader with no criminal history, and his religious organization in a healthcare fraud investigation. This action exemplifies egregious prosecutorial overreach. The Attorney General's Office seeks to escape accountability for failing to detect an alleged fraud that triggered over $60 million in payouts within a year. Instead of addressing this regulatory failure, the prosecution pursues baseless charges against uninvolved parties to deflect blame. Criminal charges must be rooted in evidence, not politics. Targeting a church and its leadership without proof sets a dangerous precedent and erodes public trust in the justice system. The AG's Office unfortunately has a history of politically motivated prosecutions. Just yesterday, May 19, 2025, the Maricopa County Superior Court ruled that the AG's Office unfairly presented its so-called "Fake Electors" case to the grand jury and violated the defendants' constitutional rights. The judge ordered the case remanded back to the grand jury. Kolsrud Law Offices demands a transparent review of the facts, free from political motives." We've reached out to the attorneys for the rest of the defendants in this latest indictment, but have not heard back. Dig deeper As we have reported on since 2023, thousands of victims, mainly Native Americans, were not provided legitimate treatment services for substance abuse and mental health. Per AG Mayes, more than 120 individuals and entities have been charged in connection to the Sober Living Scheme, but only a small percentage of the estimated $2 billion has been recovered, as she says funds have been spent on assets like cars and homes, or wired offshore. Cases we are seeing prosecuted stem back to before 2023, when AHCCCS and the state's Attorney General's Office were led by another administration. "How much does this fall on checks and balances handled by our state agencies?" we asked AG Mayes. "This is about a government failure. That is something that we're working on right now, that AHCCCS is now working on," AG Mayes replied. "We continue to provide advice and some guidance to them about what we think they need to do to stop this fraud. This is going to take years to fix. It could take up to a decade to fix this. This is something that was allowed to fester for way too long, and far too many people were hurt by it." AG Mayes also confirmed that there are clear international ties to this scheme, as alleged in the money laundering charge involving Rwanda.
