STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Several Democratic-led states are taking steps to prepare for a second Trump term.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Right. Many blue-state governors and attorney generals are forming coalitions, and developing plans to try and push back against policies they expect from the incoming administration. Democratic leaders are making state-level efforts to protect against what they describe as threats to democracy and constitutional norms, as Republican states prepare for a more aligned federal government.
INSKEEP: More aligned with them, yeah. Talking about this is NPR's Ryland Barton, who's on the line. Good morning.
RYLAND BARTON, BYLINE: Hi, Steve.
INSKEEP: OK. So what are the Democratic state leaders doing, exactly?
BARTON: So one of the efforts is this new group called Governors Safeguarding Democracy, led by Illinois Democratic Governor JB Pritzker and Colorado Democratic Governor Jared Polis. It's unclear specifically what this group hopes to accomplish. But broadly, they say they're going to work with legal experts and advocates to tackle what they call these challenges facing democracy. Here's Governor Pritzker on a call with reporters Tuesday.
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JB PRITZKER: And together, what we're doing is pushing back against increasing threats of autocracy, and fortifying the institutions of democracy that our country and our states depend upon.
BARTON: I should say that nowhere on their website or in their announcement do they say anything about Trump. One specific thing they responded to on the phone, though, was this idea Trump's incoming deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, has floated - that mass deportations in blue states could be accomplished using National Guard units from red states. Pritzker called that unacceptable and said he would not cooperate. In response to the effort from Democratic state leaders, a spokesperson for Trump's transition team wrote to us that the American people gave President-elect Trump a mandate to implement his promises, and he would deliver.
INSKEEP: That's something that Stephen Miller did say at one time on a podcast. So I'm trying to think this through. I know that when there's a Democratic president that red states, Republican-led states, have often gotten together. They've sued. They've organized in different ways. Texas, for example, has been very prominent. So what would the blue states do now?
BARTON: So so far, in California, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom has called a special legislative session for lawmakers to, as he put it, protect California values. The session begins December 2, but the only specific we have so far is that he wants more funding to fight the federal government in court. California has been a prolific challenger of Trump's, or was a prolific challenger of Trump's first administration. They filed over 100 lawsuits back then on things from climate to health care to immigration. Courts are a lot more conservative now, after a wave of appointments from President Trump. Several other Democratic attorneys general are also promising similar actions, including Arizona, Minnesota and Washington State. It's not unusual, as you just said, for states to file these lawsuits against an administration. Republican attorneys general filed dozens of lawsuits against the Biden administration over the last four years.
INSKEEP: OK. Taking a wild guess, Republican states might have fewer reasons to sue a Trump administration. But how are they preparing for this new term?
BARTON: Well, Republican state leaders are gearing up for the policies Trump talked about when voters in their states voted for him. They're ready to chart their own course on things like the environment, education, health care. It's interesting to think about Republican state leaders like Texas Governor Greg Abbott, whose Operation Lone Star was a direct challenge to the federal government over whether the state could enforce border policies. He and other GOP governors spent the last four years fighting the federal government. Now they'll likely be aligned with it.
INSKEEP: Ryland Barton, thanks so much.
BARTON: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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