Former Attorneys General Divided on Suing Trump to Slow Agenda

It’s New York v. Trump—17 times this year and counting.

Attorney General Letitia James filed a pair of legal challenges to the Trump administration Monday, again putting the Democrat front and center in the blue-state effort to stymie Trump’s agenda. The moves put her lawsuit tally against the Trump administration at seventeen since his second term started, James’ office said.

The legal fusillade earned plaudits from James’ fellow Democrats but the results of the litigation wave remain to be seen.

“Tish was ready to spring back into action,” former New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman told me in an interview. “We have a bigger office with broader jurisdiction than most state attorneys general, and she knows how to use it.”

Schneiderman said when he served in the role during Trump’s first term, he strategized with other attorneys general on who was best-positioned to bring cases like a constitutional challenge to Trump’s ban on immigration from Muslim-majority countries.

“The lawyers in that office still have the skills and knowledge from Trump 1.0,” said Schneiderman, who resigned in 2018 amid sexual misconduct claims. He’s denied the allegations but apologized for “pain” he’d caused.

Another of James’ predecessors was skeptical of the strategy.

Can the New York AG slow Trump’s agenda? “Probably not,” G. Oliver Koppell, who served as a Democratic New York Attorney General in the 1990s, told me. Koppell, now a civil litigator, added: “It’s a stretch. It’s not really in the bailiwick of the attorney general to stop the federal government.”

James said in a statement: “This administration is not streamlining the federal government; they are sabotaging it.”

A White House spokesman said “all of President Trump’s executive actions are lawful, constitutional, and intended to deliver on the promises he made,” adding the administration “is prepared to fight these battles in court and will prevail.”

These are New York’s latest suits against Trump:

• The Trump administration overstepped its authority by halting federal offshore and onshore wind approvals, New York said with 16 other states. “Democrat Attorneys General are using lawfare to stop the President’s popular energy agenda,” the White House responded. Read more
• The Health and Human Services Department unlawfully fired health workers and cut funding — including support for the World Trade Center Health Program, which provides medical help for 9/11 survivors and responders — New York said with 18 other states. HHS didn’t comment. Read more

Sounding Off: Rep. Ryan Says ‘Wrong’ Things

“I’ve found a lot of folks around here in D.C. are very cautious, and I just don’t think that that works for the moment. I’m sure many things I said today are wrong, but at least I’m willing to try.”—New York Congressman Pat Ryan tells my colleague Maeve Sheehey as the swing-seat Democrat considers his party’s strategy. Read more

EDNY Gets New Top Cop

Brooklyn, Long Island, and Queens have a new top prosecutor. President Trump on Monday appointed Joseph Nocella Jr. as interim US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Nocella can serve for 120 days in the interim role if he’s not confirmed by the Senate. Trump is sidestepping Congress after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said he’d block the nominations of Nocella and Jay Clayton. Trump appointed Clayton interim US Attorney for the Southern District of New York in April.

• Also read: Long Island Judge Faces Learning Curve as Trump Prosecutor Pick

Finance

Milken Crowd Warms Up to Tariffs While Condemning All the Chaos

Scott Bessent walked on stage at the largest gathering in months of Wall Street’s champions of global trade, aiming to explain why President Donald Trump is putting up hurdles to global trade.

In the Courts

Major Cities Sue Over Conditions on Homelessness, Transit Grants

New York City, San Francisco, Boston and five other cities and counties are suing the Trump administration over new conditions on federal grants that aid local government efforts to end homelessness and maintain transit systems.

Charter’s $7.85 Million NY Tax Bill Should Stand, State Argues

Businesses filing combined tax returns can’t claim New York’s lower corporation franchise tax rate for “qualified emerging technology companies” unless all affiliated entities that are part of a combined tax return meet the requirements, the state’s tax agency told an appeals court.

Nursing Home Operator Must Defend Investor Claims in New York

PACS Group Inc. failed to convince a federal judge in New York to move an investor lawsuit alleging the nursing home operator submitted false Medicare claims ahead of its 2024 initial public offering to its headquarters state of Utah.

NY Homeowner Gets Tax Foreclosure Lawsuit Against City Revived

A former homeowner suing a New York city after it foreclosed his property on a tax debt and refused to give him the surplus saw his lawsuit revived when the Second Circuit held he sufficiently alleged a constitutional claim.

Founder of Sexual Wellness Startup OneTaste Goes on Trial

The founder of sexual-wellness company OneTaste and her former head of sales are slated to go on trial Monday in Brooklyn, New York, for allegedly manipulating victims of sexual trauma.

New York School District Sues Insurers Over Sexual Abuse Claims

A Long Island school district sued its insurers, including units of Hartford Insurance Group Inc. and Loews Corp., alleging the carriers failed to defend and indemnify the district in underlying lawsuits related to child sexual abuse claims.

Policy & Politics

NY to Pay Off Unemployment Debt, Triggering Business Tax Cut

Unemployment benefits will increase and taxes on businesses decrease in New York after Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Monday she had agreed to pay off a roughly $6.5 billion debt to the federal government.

Insights & Commentary

Treat Risk Disclosures as Opinions to Clean Up Fraud Challenges

Gibson Dunn’s Michael Kahn argues risk factors should be analyzed as statements of opinion, offering a clearer legal standard and reducing uncertainty for both companies and courts.

DOJ Lawyers Aren’t the President’s—No Matter What a Memo Says

New York County Lawyers Association’s Albert Feuer and James Kobak Jr. warn Attorney General Pam Bondi is trying to turn DOJ into a law firm for the president.

Editor’s Picks

HSF Chair Wins Another Term Ahead of Kramer Levin Merger

Herbert Smith Freehills chair and senior partner Rebecca Maslen-Stannage won another four-year leadership term as the firm prepares to officially combine with New York’s Kramer Levin.

Proskauer Recruits Leveraged Finance Partner Duo in New York

Alexandra de Padua and Frank Oliver joined Proskauer Rose as partners in its global finance practice in New York, the firm announced Monday.

Newark Radar Failure Left Controllers Blind for 90 Seconds

Air traffic controllers guiding planes bound for Newark Liberty International Airport lost radar and radio communication for more than a minute early last week before flights at the key hub were snarled for days, according to people familiar with the matter.