As attorney general during newly elected President Donald Trump’s first term in the White House, Ferguson challenged the federal government 55 times and won nearly every case filed. Now Ferguson has been elected to the governor’s office. His replacement, fellow Democrat Nick Brown, says he is willing to do the same, even though the two say they don’t want to.
“If this team never has to file a single lawsuit against the Trump administration, no one would be happier than me,” Ferguson said during a press conference on Wednesday.
However, Washington’s two elected leaders say they realize the plans outlined in Project 2025, which Trump distanced himself from but Republicans celebrated after the election, are likely to harm Washington residents.
Ferguson says he has assigned a team of hundreds of lawyers to sift through 900 pages of policies to be prepared over the past few months. On Wednesday, he announced that Brown is now a “Special Assistant Attorney General,” a position that Washington Attorney General Robert McKenna extended to Ferguson 12 years ago so he could learn the inner workings of the state’s top lawyer.
“My approach is not to look for an adversarial relationship, but if someone takes an action that harms the people of Washington, it is obviously my job as attorney general to do something,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson and Brown say they look at three things before considering whether or not to file charges against the Trump administration: is the White House’s action illegal or unconstitutional, does it harm Washington residents, and does the office prestige, or does it meet the legal standard? have a relative and legitimate interest in the case.
“It was not unusual for a policy to be passed that had strong opposition. But we as a team didn’t feel that it was illegal, that it was within his power to do it. Well, if that’s the case, then that’s the case,” Ferguson said.
President-elect Trump campaigned for a mass deportation of people without legal immigration status or without papers. The Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma is the fourth largest detention center for undocumented immigrants in the country. In 2021, Washington state lawmakers attempted to pass legislation to close it, but it was rejected in court, with a judge ruling that the federal government’s jurisdiction outweighed state law. Ferguson and Brown warn that similar restrictions could limit what they can do to fight a deportation plan of that magnitude.
“It becomes our duty to ensure that we defend the rights of everyone in Washington state, citizens and non-citizens alike,” Brown said.
Project 2025 details the use of the 19th century Comstock Act to ban the shipment of abortion drugs such as Mifepristone. It also appears that barriers to emergency abortion care will increase and funding to pro-choice states will be limited.
Ferguson and Brown both believe state law can still protect women in Washington.
“There is a strong argument that our state Constitution’s right to privacy provides this additional protection,” Ferguson said.
Of the lawsuits Ferguson filed during Trump’s first term, he said many were the result of “sloppy” executive orders or other actions by the White House. He doesn’t expect that a second time.
“That opened up opportunities for us to prevail in court. This time around, I expect we’ll see less of that,” Ferguson said, “Donald Trump had individuals within his administration who clearly pushed back on some of what he wanted to do. There were voices within the government that were interested in following the rule of law. I fear there will be fewer or none of these voices in his next administration.”
During the four months leading up to his first term, Trump sat on federal funding requested by Gov. Jay Inslee to help wildfire-ravaged Pine City. KIRO 7 asked both Ferguson and Brown if they fear retaliation for the lawsuits filed.
“The simple fact that that question is on the table is a real testament to the type of person the United States of America has just elected,” Brown said.
“It’s very important that we continue to try to enforce the law,” Brown continued. were successful, meaning that courts in this state and also in the federal courts have found that the presidents of the United States government violated a law or constitutional principle or wronged people unjustly.”
