Since January, the New York attorney general’s office has filed more than two dozen lawsuits or legal interventions in ongoing battles with White House
NY attorney general files two more lawsuits against Trump administration
Since January, the New York attorney general’s office has filed more than two dozen lawsuits or legal interventions in ongoing battles with White House
By Brendan J. Lyons,Managing EditorMay 13, 2025
ALBANY — The New York attorney general’s onslaught of litigation against the Trump administration continued Tuesday with the filing of two more lawsuits — both challenging federal policies that they said threaten to cut federal aid for any states that decline to support immigration deportation efforts.
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Since January, there have been more than two dozen lawsuits or legal interventions initiated by state Attorney General Letitia James, an outspoken critic of President Donald J. Trump’s who has pledged to use the power of her office to “uphold the law and ensure that essential services in states across our country can continue.”
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The cases being filed Tuesday, with other attorneys general in multiple states joining as petitioners, challenge the threatened federal aid cuts for homeland security programs and transportation infrastructure funding that James’ office alleges will be imposed on states that do not divert resources to support immigration enforcement efforts. Another component of the withheld aid, the filings allege, are tied to cuts for states that have programs which use federally funded benefits to “incentivize” illegal immigration.
The homeland security funding supports initiatives ranging from counterterrorism and emergency preparedness to disaster recovery and protecting nonprofits and faith-based organizations from “extremist networks.”
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Transportation are both named as defendants in the actions filed Tuesday. Both cases were filed in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island, where many of the same attorneys general have filed similar lawsuits against the Trump administration.
Other federal cases filed in Rhode Island by Democratic-led states challenging federal funding policy changes have been assigned to U.S. District Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr., who was appointed by Barack Obama and has received fierce criticism from some Republicans in Congress.
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Two months ago, a group of House Republicans proffered a resolution seeking to have McConnell removed from the bench, alleging he “knowingly politicized and weaponized his judicial position to advance his own political views and beliefs.”
In the cases filed this week, the coalition of attorneys general, including James, contend the Trump administration’s attempts to withhold congressionally authorized transportation and homeland security funds for states that impede immigration enforcement efforts violates the constitutional separation of powers.
“DHS is holding states hostage by forcing them to choose between disaster preparedness and enabling the administration’s illegal and chaotic immigration agenda,” James said. “This funding is vital to keeping New Yorkers safe during hurricanes, floods, and other catastrophes.”
That same strategy is allegedly being deployed by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, James said, who she said is seeking “to hold essential funding hostage to advance a political agenda.”
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The state attorney general’s office has devoted significant resources to its legal efforts challenging the Trump administration, beginning with a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court on Jan. 28 challenging a federal funding freeze. That case was filed by attorneys general from 21 states and the District of Columbia. Three months ago, McConnell ruled in favor of the states and ordered Trump’s administration to restore the funding.
On Feb. 8, James’ office filed a second lawsuit against Trump’s administration alleging that Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency had been granted unauthorized access to the U.S. Treasury Department’s central payment system, including to “sensitive personal information.” That case is pending in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Trump’s administration recently filed a motion seeking to have a preliminary injunction lifted, noting that Ryan Wunderly, a special advisor on Musk’s team, had undergone the same required training as other Treasury employees who have access to the sensitive information.
Other legal action brought by the state attorney general’s office over the past five months includes a challenge of federal cuts in grants to universities and research institutions; the firing of thousands of federal probationary workers; elimination of teacher grant programs that the administration alleged were discriminatory; budgetary cuts that benefited libraries and museums; transgender policies, and election-integrity standards, including requiring voters to provide documentary evidence of U.S. citizenship.
Trump’s administration has pushed back on the legal challenges of its policy decisions and its ongoing efforts to reduce the size and cost of the federal government. In addition to dozens of executive orders issued by Trump, his administration has also waged its own litigation to push back on what it alleges are unconstitutional state laws or policies, including challenging the constitutionality of New York’s Climate Change Superfund Act. The U.S. attorney general has also filed a lawsuit in Albany to overturn New York’s “Green Light Law” that has enabled thousands of migrants who entered the U.S. illegally to obtain driver’s licenses.
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Last month, Trump signed an executive order that directed the U.S. attorney general to evaluate state “climate” laws that his administration alleges may be illegal, including New York’s superfund law which seeks to collect billions of dollars in penalties from companies deemed responsible for greenhouse gas emissions due to their refinement and production of fossil fuels.
He signed that order two months after more than 20 states filed a federal lawsuit against New York challenging the constitutionality of the Climate Change Superfund Act.
“New York’s law is nothing more than an unconstitutional shakedown of vital American energy industries that form the bedrock of our national economic independence,” said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose office is a lead plaintiff in the case. “In return for keeping the lights on and fueling our manufacturing, energy producers are being targeted for destruction by the left-wing policies of New York radicals.”
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