WASHINGTON, D.C.Accountable.US. is closely tracking attorneys general across the country who are already engaging in frivolous lawsuits and lobbying efforts to try to undermine the Biden administration and halt actions that would benefit their constituents. Below is a roundup of just some of the AGs’ recent politically motivated and legally dubious actions.

“Republican attorneys general are cynically using the courts and right-wing media to advance their personal and political agendas — often at the expense of the rule of law and key protections,” said Kyle Herrig, president of Accountable.US. “Any time they spend obstructing progress on the incredible challenges the nation faces is time not spent doing their jobs — protecting the public.”

Accountable.US will be tracking the efforts of attorneys general and will expose any actions that serve corporate donors, lobbyists, and serve the personal interests of the attorneys general themselves rather than the interests of the American people.

Climate Change

Twelve attorneys general, led by Missouri AG Eric Schmitt, sued the Biden administration over its executive order that seeks to limit greenhouse gases, and are doing so in the name of “federal overreach.” Attorneys general signing onto the lawsuit include Arkansas’ Leslie Rutledge, Arizona’s Mark Brnovich, and Indiana’s Todd Rokita as well as those from Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah.

Immigration

President Trump may not be fear mongering from the White House or the campaign trail these days, but plenty of state attorneys general have picked up the mantle and are employing the same overheated rhetoric and scare tactics emblematic of the Trump administration. Arizona AG Mark Brnovich and Montana AG Austin Knudsen, and separately, Florida AG Ashley Moody, filed lawsuits this week opposing Biden administration executive orders that direct the Department of Homeland Security to guide enforcement priorities.

Voting Rights

Twenty Republican attorneys general announced their opposition to H.R. 1, legislation that would strengthen democracy by increasing access to voting, establishing independent state commissions to draw fair congressional district maps and reducing the influence of dark money in elections. However, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey told FOX News the legislation was “a dangerous bill” and a “Pelosi power grab” that he would fight in court if it became law.

Corruption

The FBI is already investigating Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for corruption, but news broke this week that Paxton is giving authorities more material to work with as he reportedly gave a donor’s son a state job unrelated to his experience as an ice cream company executive. Paxton’s actions have been so outlandish that even Twitter filed a lawsuit against him for “unlawfully abusing his authority as the highest law-enforcement officer of the State of Texas to intimidate, harass, and target Twitter in retaliation for Twitter’s exercise of its First Amendment rights.”

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