DENVER (KDVR) — Attorney General Phil Weiser announced new legal efforts against the Trump administration on Monday, leading to Colorado now having enjoined or led 25 legal actions against the Trump administration.
Weiser told FOX31 that he intends to continue filing lawsuits whenever he sees the federal government violate the law in a way that harms Colorado.
“In every single one of these cases, I ask, ‘Did the federal government just violate the law in a way that harms Colorado?’ And every time the answer is yes and yes,” Weiser said. “It is unfortunate and unprecedented to have a federal government acting with such disregard of the rule of law.”
As of Friday, Colorado was part of 24 cases against the federal government. On Monday, Weiser’s office said it was also filing a brief in a case to urge the U.S. Supreme Court to disallow the creation of America’s first publicly funded, religious charter school.
The first case brought by Weiser’s office against Trump’s administration involved birthright citizenship, which Weiser asserted on Monday violates the U.S. Constitution, and noted that a judge in the case asked where lawyers were to fight Trump’s executive order on the matter.
“The judge called the action the most unconstitutional thing he’d seen in 40 years on the bench,” Weiser said. “This is from a judge appointed by Ronald Reagan. What we’re seeing from this administration is dangerous, it’s reckless, it’s illegal, and that’s why we’re in court again and again.
“And in every case we filed, we’ve won an order from a judge saying what’s happening illegal and wrong,” Weiser added.
He said the most dangerous claim he’s heard from Trump is his assertion that he will not spend money mandated by Congress that’s been earmarked for Colorado — Weiser said it amounts to about $220 million in federal funding.
“There’s money for people who are doing wildfire mitigation and resistance, for public safety, for veterans,” Weiser said. “All of these funds are mandated by Congress. The president does not have the right to say, ‘I’m not spending those funds.'”
Weiser also addressed claims that the filings are “overkill” or just partisan politics.
“Anyone who has a question about these lawsuits can go ahead and look for him or herself at what our arguments are, can look at how the court treats them,” Weiser said. “We are making arguments based on the law, based on facts, and we’re winning our cases because what we’re challenging is beyond the pale. The president does not have unlimited power. The president is not above the law.”
