Just forty-eight hours following the November election, Andrew Bailey, who holds the office of Missouri Attorney General, celebrated a court victory which contradicted a federal immigration regulation intended to assist those immigrants who are spouses of U.S. citizens. The victorious litigation, led by Bailey, Kris Kobach, the Attorney General of Kansas, and 13 other Republican-led states, was a clear response to what Bailey criticized as a ‘border crisis’ initiated by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
The cited immigration regulation exemplified, according to Kobach, the unmerited creation of an illegitimate programs by the Biden administration. After years of legal action against Biden and the federal agencies under his governance, the Republican attorneys general of both Missouri and Kansas now anticipate a change in seasons starting January 20, 2025, with the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.
As this fresh period begins, these two state officials are expected to discard their oppositional stance and instead, favor a supportive position for the new administration. In this new alliance, they are expected to divert their legal energy to new arenas of interest.
The coming power shift stands as the first instance when Bailey and Kobach serve as state attorneys general while their party maintains control over the White House. Both public officials got into their roles in 2023; Bailey succeeding after being selected by Missouri Governor Mike Parson to fill a vacant post, and Kobach earning his position through winning an election.
Regardless of Kobach maintaining a relatively lesser public profile compared to Bailey, both officials have bolstered ties with Trump as well as consistently filed suits against the Biden administration over the past two years.
Together, they have spearheaded various litigations and joined hands with other Republican state attorneys general to challenge various issues legally. Once the Trump administration assumes power, this wave of legal action is anticipated to ebb considerably.
Andrew Bailey, as Missouri Attorney General, has dealt with a substantial increase in lawsuits in recent years. Traditionally, the role of state attorneys general is associated with law enforcement, but has seen a significant political shift with an increasing number of lawsuits aimed to obstruct federal rules and programs.
Legal disputes have become increasingly common over topics like immigration regulations, environment-related rules, and protections geared towards LGBTQ individuals, fostered by state attorneys general and the federal government.
Despite this surge in litigation, data clearly highlight the dramatic inconsistencies in the approaches of Kansas and Missouri based on political party control of the White House. During the Trump administration, both states collectively initiated only two lawsuits.
One of these lawsuits contested the Affordable Care Act, which was a major accomplishment of President Barack Obama. It is likely that Bailey and Kobach, among other Republican attorneys general, may initiate new law suits in the opening weeks of the incoming Trump administration, with a focus on repealing rules implemented during Biden’s tenure.
Additionally, Bailey and Kobach have already displayed efforts to limit access to medicinal abortion, the most widespread form of abortion in the country, through federal litigation. They are pushing to reduce usage of the pill mifepristone from ten to seven weeks of pregnancy and reinstating the requirement of three in-person doctors’ visits.
Such actions would reinstate regulations that were previously weakened by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It is still an open question as to the position that will be taken by the incoming Trump administration regarding this new complaint.
In certain cases, pursuing legal courses allows for a quicker path to revoke rules compared to navigating the formal federal rule-making process. However, such ‘friendly’ challenges will presumably represent just a minor fraction of legal action compared to what a Kamala Harris administration would have encountered.
Bailey has shown a propensity in the past to take local officials to court, or at least confront them in the public arena. Therefore, it is likely that Republican state attorneys general will focus more on actions by local governments.
Kobach, during his campaign, proposed the creation of an internal unit inside the Kansas Attorney General’s Office with an exclusive focus on challenging the Biden Administration. This proposal signifies another pivot in the shift of power toward the incoming administration.
Missouri and Kansas Attorneys General Triumph Over Biden’s ‘Border Crisis’ appeared first on Real News Now.
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