Donald Trump has been back in the White House for one month and has issued a slew of executive orders attacking American civil rights and liberties. Here at home, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and his team have been responding in real time, filing nearly a lawsuit a week.
“We are not here to fight Trump, but if he picks a fight, we are never going to shrink from it,” Ellison said, speaking to a room of philanthropists on Wednesday. “I can barely keep track of how many times we’ve sued Donald Trump already. The fact is, I’ll do it every single day if I have to.”
In the past 30 days, the Attorney General’s office has sued to block the executive order on birthright citizenship, to stop the Trump administration from withholding essential federal funding, to end the presidential order criminalizing, ending funding for gender-affirming care, to challenge illegal cuts to medical and public health innovation research and to stop Elon Musk’s unconstitutional power grab.
Ellison has also accused President Trump of misleading the American people on diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) and developed guidance for businesses, nonprofits, and other organizations to understand the viability and importance of DEI policies and practices.
“I’m here to tell you that DEI is perfectly legal and the absolute opposite of discrimination,” Ellison said. “You cannot get rid of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Minnesota Human Rights Act with an executive order.”
Still, the Trump administration is trying to do just that by muddying a core feature to American democracy, the constitutional separation of powers. Separation of powers means congress makes the laws and the courts interpret them.
“What happens when you don’t have a free press – or a bullied press? When you have a dependent congress and you have a stacked supreme court?” Ellison asked. “This is a moment where everything you ever said you believed counts and has to be put on the table. I promise you that if you stand up, I will stand up and we will fight together.”
It’s not just about the fight, though. Ellison says this moment calls for uncommon courage and kindness, especially from Foundations.
“It's more important than ever because Donald Trump's war on civil society is going to increase the need for the work you make possible,” he said. “Philanthropy has always stepped in when the government couldn’t or wouldn’t, and that’s particularly true when it comes to civil rights.It is my prayer that we rise to the moment, that we understand what we’re facing and that we do what needs to be done.”
Lawsuits:
Jan. 21 Birthright citizenship
Jan. 28 Federal funding freeze
Feb. 7 DOGE lawsuit 1
Feb. 7 Gender-affirming care
Feb. 10 NIH funding cuts
Feb. 13 DOGE 2
Guidance:
Commentaires