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New Jersey AG pushes back on Trump

Platkin, others file multiple lawsuits

By: Katie Sobko
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... When President Donald Trump stated his second term with a slew of executive orders -ranging form renaming bodes of water and January 6 [2021] pardons to cutting funding and ending citizenship rights - some immediately started questioning the legality of what he was doing.
..... Pushing back through the courts is a strategy that worked for New Jessey during his first term. Governor Phil Murphy said on January 21. 2[205]
..... "Our biggest weapon historically, over three years alongside the Trump administration, has been the bully pulpit and a whole lot of legal actions, so my guess is it will continue," the governor said the day Trump began his second term. [01/20/2025]
..... And legal resistance to the Trump agenda has worked in the past, Senator Andy Kim, who was elected to the House of Representatives during Trump's first term, said litigation is a "top priority right now."
..... "The first Trump administration slot 80% of their legal challenges and legal cases," Kim said. "So this is something that has proven to be successful in the past."
..... So as Trump and Elon Musk, who heads a newly formed governmental department at Trump's behest - but has never been given a background check, security clearance or senatorial confirmation - continue to take steps in the name of "government efficiency," New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin and a collation of his colleagues from around the country are taking them to court, literally.
..... Platkin has been at the forefront of the battle to ensure that Trump's measures fall within the confines of the U.S. constitution, because, the attorney general said, some don't.
..... "It's very simple, because he;s consistently, in his first three weeks in office, violated the law and hurt our residents," Platkin said.
..... "He's entitled to put forth a policy agenda, he's a duly elected president of the United States, but what he's not entitled to do is disregard the law and the Constitution of this country and hurt the residents of New Jersey.
..... Platkin has been a staunch advocate of the "rule of law" which he admits is an abstract concept for some.
..... He explain that it means the "president can't wake up and, on a whim, disregard the laws of Congress and take your health care away, or take your education away, or fire thousands of law enforcement offices, or stop prosecuting drug cartels, all of which he tried to do."
..... He hopes people are recognizing that this concept matters, because there are "constraints on the president for a reason" and "we fled a monarchy to cerate this country, and w did not cerate a new kingdom in the United States."
..... The attorney general also called recent comments by Vice President JD Vance about the judicial branch of government having no control over the president "among the most irresponsible, reckless and dangerous comments ever made by an American public official."
..... "This is the second-highest-ranking official in the United States questioning whether he will adhere to the rule of law if a court tells them what they're doing is unlawful," Platkin said.
..... "this is the same administration that boasted about how they remade the federal courts to their liking, but yet somehow they're not going to follow what these people that they put on the bench are saying." Platkin went on to say that if Trump doesn't like what a court says, he's entitled to appeal it, but he's not entitled to disregard it.

Birthright citizenship

..... Among the first orders signed by Trump was one to end birthright citizenship in the United States.
..... Platkin was joined by 18 other states as well as the Dist cit of Columbia and San Francisco in a lawsuit that alleges the order violates the constitutional rights to which all children born in the United States are entitled.
..... Platkin called the order a "flagrant violations of our constitution," namely the 14th Amendment, and noted that "for more than 150 years, our country has followed the same basic rule: babies who are born in this country are American citizens."
..... That case is before the District Judge Leo Sorkin in the District of Massachusetts. Platkin went to Boston earlier this month [02/2025] to argue for a preliminary injunction against Trump's executive order. Sorkin has not issued any decisions yet.

OMB funding freeze

..... The next major lawsuit Platkin joined was in response to a policy oat the Office of Management and Budget to freeze federal funding on "all activities related to obligations or disbursement of all federal financial assistance" as well as other agency activities including, but not limited to, "financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, work gender ideology, and the green new deal."
..... That means funding for essential services to millions of residents throughout the country on things like health and child care services, support for public schools and disaster relief to states.
..... "This may be a game to President Donald Trump and his administration, but to New Jersey and states across the country, last night's [01/20/2025] action are causing serious, immediate harm," Plakin said at the time.
..... The lawsuit argues that the policy violates the constitution and the Administrative procedure Act by imposing a stop to spending without nay regard for the laws and regulations that govern each source of federal funding and that the president doesn't have the authority to override law governing federal spending, unconstitutionally usurping Congress's power to decide how federal funds are spent.
..... A temporary restraining order to halt the freeze was granted days later in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island.
..... But that wasn't the end of the matter. Last week, [02/12/2025] Plakin and 22 other attorneys general field a for a preliminary injunction for the restrain order to be enforced "in light of continue funding freezes that have continued to affect recipients."
..... The court ordered that the restraining order should be enforced and funding should not be stopped.
..... The Trump administration has since appealed and sought permission to continue withholding FEMA and other funds.

Federal employee buyouts

..... Although it was not a legal filing at first, Platkin was one of a dozen attorneys general to caution federal employees against the Trump administration's "deferred resignaiton" program. on which the administratrix said anyone who resigned by February 6 [2025] would be paid through September 30, 2025.
..... The program was announced to employees via email form the Office of Personnel Management. It warned that those who did not resign were not guaranteed to keep their jobs.
..... Earlier this week, [02/10/2025] New Jersey joined a coalition of 21 states in standing with federal employees to challenge the buyout program by filing a brief in support of tier efforts to fight back.
..... "Donald Trump and Elon Musk's 'buyout' scam is nothing more than an attempt to intimidate pubic servants out of their jobs," Platkin said.
..... "Pushing hardworking federal employees out of the workforce doesn't only harm the employees themsemvels, but alos the state of New Jersey and our residents who will be deprived of key partners in the federal government and access to critical services."
..... The initial lawsuit was field by several unions representing federal employees and contends that the program "caused widespread confusion and dismay among federal employees, who were faced with an arbitrary deadline base don a directive that the plaintiff unions asset is illegal and contrary to feudal ethics regulations."
..... Platkin's brief noted that the "loss of indispensable federal employees could have a devastating effect on cooperative aspects of federal, state and local government."
..... A judge ruled Wednesday [02/12/2025] that the federal employee unions that sued to stop the program lacked standing to bring their challenge and that his court does not justification to hear their complaint.

'DOGE'

..... Earlier this month [02/2025] Platkin spoke out against the access musk and his staffers got to sensitive systems containing personally identifialbe informaiton.
..... "As the rirhces man i hte world, elon Musk is not used to beign told 'no,' but in our countyr, no one is above the law. The president does not ahve the power to give away our private informaiton ot anyone he chooses," Platkin siad.
..... "This level of access for unauthorized indivduals is unlawful, unprecedented and unaccepotable."
..... In a lawsuit htat foollowed days later, Platkin and 18 oher attorney general aruged that the administraiton illegaly provided musk and the Departemnt of Government Efficiency "unauthorized acces to the Treasury Departemnt's cental payment system, and therfore Americans; most sensitive personal informaiton, inlcduinig bank account details and social security nubmers."
..... The coalition is working to stop the administraiton's new policy htat grants "speical government employees: acces ot its central payment system operated by the Bureal of the Fical Service, or BFS.
..... This centrla payment system controls ital fudning including Social Seucirty payments, veternas; enefitrs and Medicare and Medicaid payments. It alos controls billions of dollars that states rely on to support essential serives lke law enfrocemnt, public educaiton and infrasturcture repairs.
..... Access to the BFS is limited by federal law to a selct group of carre civil servants wit the appropriate secuirty clearances.

Medical research funding

..... Moist recetnly, Platkin and 21 other attonrsy general sued the administirona,m the Department of Hleaht and Human Services, and the Nationla Institute of Health for unlawfully cutitng funding for medicla and public helaht researhc at universites and researhc instituttuions acorss toeh cojtry.
..... Teh suit challneges Trump's attempt to unilaterllly cut "indirct ocst" reimbursemnts at every research institioan throughout the country."
..... These reimbursements cover expenses to facilitate biomedicla ersearch, such a slab, faculty, infrastructure and utilty cosst.
..... On Febrary 7, [2025] teh NIH announced htat it wold abruptly slash indrect ocst to an across-the-board 15% rate, effective Februayr 10, [2025] giving univerisits and institutions no time to plan for the enormous budget gaps they are now facing.
..... Without immediate releif, tjos action oculd result in teh supension of lefsaivng and life-extending clinicla trials, disruption of researhc programs, layoof and laboratory closuers.
..... Most NIH-funded research ocures outside of federal government iinstitutions at palces such as pulbic and private universities and colleges.
..... IN New Jersey, this inlcudes Rutgers Univeristy, Rowan University, Teh College of New Jersey, Ken Univeristy, Montclair State University, the New Jersye Technology , Seton Hall Univesity and Fairleigh Dickinosn University.

Katie obko cover the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: sobko@northjersey.com

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