Washington AG files ‘golden’ lawsuit against Trump administration

Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson reached a milestone Wednesday when he filed his 50th lawsuit against President Trump.

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Lucky number 50 — known commonly as the gold anniversary — involves the Endangered Species Act, alleging the Trump administration undermined it by making it so “any endangered species that may recover enough to be down-listed to threatened status would lose automatic blanket protections.”

Ferguson’s history with suing Trump is extensive, to say the least. In a news release, the Washington State AG’s office broke down each one:

• 26 — more than half — involve environmental protections (record: 13-0);
• 11 relate to immigration (record: 4-0);
• 7 relate to health care access (record: 2-0);
• 2 relate to consumer protections for student borrowers (record: 1-0);
• 1 relates to 3D-printed guns (record: 1-0);
• 1 relates to the military transgender ban; and
• 1 relates to net neutrality.

Of those 50 lawsuits, Washington state is the lead plaintiff in 19, having filed various amicus briefs with other states for many of the remaining cases. Ferguson has won 21 total suits against the Trump administration, 13 of which can’t be appealed.

Ferguson deems the taxpayer burden of these cases as “negligible,” citing the fact that his office is in the process of 20,000 separate “legal matters,” making his 50 Trump lawsuits something of a drop in the bucket.

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The subjects for each of the 50 lawsuits Ferguson has against the Trump Administration vary, listed below.

Numbers 1 through 13 were victories that cannot be appealed. Fourteen through 21 were victories that either can or have been appealed. Twenty-two through 34 are active cases where Washington is the lead plaintiff. Thirty-five through 50 are the remaining active cases where Washington isn’t the lead.

1. Original travel ban (2017)
2. Energy efficiency standards (2017)
3. New oil and gas facilities (2017)
4. Ground-level ozone standards (2017)
5. Vehicle emissions (2017)
6. A second ground level ozone case (2017)
7. Glider trucks (2018)
8. Borrower defense to repayment rule (2017)
9. Freedom of Information Act (2018)
10. Chemical disaster rule (2017)
11. Drift Gillnet rule (2017)
12. A second FOIA case (2018)
13. Citizenship question on 2020 census (2018)
14. DACA (2017)
15. Energy efficiency standards for appliances (2017)
16. 3D printed guns (2018)
17. Pesticides (2017)
18. Law enforcement grants (2018)
19. Contraception access (2018)
20. Association of health plans (2018)
21. Coal leasing on public lands (2017)
22. Naval vessel scraping (2017)
23. Military transgender ban (2017)
24. A second contraception access case (2017)
25. A second travel ban case (2017)
26. A third travel ban case (2017)
27. Family separation (2018)
28. Conscience rule (2019)
29. Water quality standards (2019)
30. Growler program expansion (2019)
31. Title X “gag rule” (2019)
32. Train crew staffing (2019)
33. Public Charge Rule (2019)
34. Border wall funding (2019)
35. Cost sharing reduction subsidies (2017)
36. Gainful employment rule (2017)
37. FOIA request regarding immigration enforcement (2017)
38. Waters of the United States (2018)
39. Net neutrality (2018)
40. Existing oil and gas facilities (2018)
41. Vehicle emissions
42. Hydrofluorocarbons (2018)
43. Medicaid Act (2019)
44. Asbestos reporting (2019)
45. Vehicle fuel economy standards penalty (2019)
46. Pesticides (2019)
47. Clean Power Plan repeal (2019)
48. Flores Agreement rule (2019)
49. A second vehicle emissions case (2019)
50. Endangered Species Act (2019)

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