Over the last eight years, more than two dozen state attorneys general have mustered a veritable legal army to thwart the unconstitutional overreach of the Obama presidency. With the change in administrations, however, these elite forces should not disband, but rather must retool. If the Trump White House is to succeed in restoring constitutional governance, it will need the support, cooperation, and sometimes pressure from the states.
In the short term, state attorneys general can coordinate with the incoming Justice Department to identify the cases and appeals that should be dismissed or settled. Further, these legal officers should roadmap how Congress and the president can rescind unlawful executive actions. Going forward, when progressive states seek to resist federal incursions, conservative states should consider supporting the principles underlying those cases: State capitols, not the central government, should decide local matters. Precedents set during this period will, in the long run, entrench the separation of powers, and ultimately promote individual liberty.
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