Democratic wins in state attorney-general races give Trump a new headache

WASHINGTON – Democrats flipped attorney-general offices in five Republican-leaning states in the midterm elections, dealing a significant blow to the conservative legal movement and erecting a new line of resistance against US President Donald Trump’s agenda.The victories in Texas, Ohio, Georgia, Iowa and Kansas threaten to disrupt conservative legal strategy.Incoming Democratic attorneys-general could halt cooperation with federal immigration operations, fortify abortion access and file multistate challenges against the Trump administration’s environmental and gun policies.“The Texas AG’s office has been operating as the private law firm of the MAGA movement,” Texas Attorney-General-elect Nathan Johnson said in an interview. “No more.”The shift reflects broader voter pushback in the midterms, in which Democrats made gains nationwide. But the practical fallout may be felt most immediately in state capitals, where attorneys-general direct law enforcement priorities, issue legal guidance and challenge federal mandates.“The Republican state attorney-general offices are the tip of the spear of the conservative legal movement,” said Mike Davis, an influential conservative lawyer. “Losing these offices is a major setback for key conservative causes.”The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment. The White House referred to previous comments from Trump in which he said Republicans lost in the midterms because he was not on the ballot.Championing guns, abortion bansOver the past decade, Republican attorneys-general have advanced conservative causes by challenging federal regulations, restricting gender-affirming care, curbing diversity initiatives and expanding gun access.The Texas office, in particular, served as a command centre for conservative legal challenges, leveraging its resources and elite staff to sue Democratic administrations.Johnson said he plans a review of initiatives launched by his predecessor, Ken Paxton, including legal actions targeting out-of-state abortion providers, claims linking over-the-counter medications to autism and lawsuits challenging vaccine efficacy.He is also critical of the state’s current partnership with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and plans to review whether it should continue.“The Texas attorney-general office was never conceived to be an extension of federal immigration enforcement,” he said. “And to the extent that they were detracting from the proper function of this office, we’re going to have a change of plans.”Johnson is prepared to join multistate lawsuits against what he called federal abuse of power, pointing to potential regulatory battles with the Department of Health and Human Services under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.He also plans to refocus the office on antitrust and consumer protection, while rebuilding a staff depleted by high turnover under Paxton.Similar pivots could be underway in other flipped states.In Iowa, Attorney-General-elect Nate Willems has pledged to prosecute corporate polluters and revive the office’s consumer protection division, departing from outgoing Republican Brenna Bird, who drew national attention for halting state reimbursements for abortions for rape victims. In Ohio, Attorney-General-elect John Kulewicz campaigned on curbing corporate price gouging.In Kansas, Chris Mann said he wants to make the office non-partisan since his state is so divided.“I want to refocus it away from political agendas,” he said.But he is concerned about ICE raids in parts of the state and also plans to review all of the lawsuits of his predecessor, including one that challenged access to the abortion pill mifepristone.Eyes turn to FloridaWith the loss of key offices in Republican-leaning states, conservative legal leaders are shifting their focus to Florida, according to two former Justice Department officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal strategy.“This office has been leading these fights since the day I took office, and we’re going to keep leading them,” Florida Attorney-General James Uthmeier said in a statement. In a Fox News interview, he vowed to be the last line of defence against Democrats.Yet the Florida office is roughly a third the size of Texas’ department, which the Republican Attorneys-General Association has hailed as the party’s premier “armory of legal talent”.Some Trump administration allies say Democratic-led states such as California and New York were already prepared to challenge every major executive action in court.But if Democrats win the presidency in 2028 while holding these offices, the allies fear they will lose state-level tools they have used to block Democratic policies they see as overreach. REUTERS