Five Questions With Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown

Here’s some good news.

This week, Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown led the charge. He got to court first over Trump’s plan to rescind birthright citizenship. His case gave the court the opportunity to stand for the rule of law, and a senior federal district judge of more than four decades, John C. Coughenour, who was appointed by President Reagan, did just that. We discussed his decision here earlier this week. The rule of law won in that courtroom, which means the American people did too.

Of course, the case isn’t over yet. This week’s court battle involved a preliminary injunction, now in place, that maintains the status quo while the litigation continues. There are at least two other cases in the works, one brought by a group of eighteen attorneys general and two cities, and a third brought by the ACLU in New Hampshire. Inevitably, the issue is making its way to the Supreme Court, where the question will be whether they are fully captive to Trump or whether the constitutionalists on the Court will heed Judge Coughenour’s warning that Trump’s executive order was “blatantly unconstitutional.”

I suspect that even this Court will not follow Trump down the primrose path here. But because we’re going to be living with this litigation for a while, it’s important to understand the issues—and the strength of the people behind the cases. I’m encouraged by Brown’s approach. He is straightforward and all about the law, which is precisely what an attorney general should be. And as you’ll see in his answers below, he was studying Project 2025 while we were, and he’s putting what he learned to good use.

“Five Questions” columns are usually on Friday night and behind a paywall, but I wanted to get this one straight out to all of you, because after the week we’ve just lived through, we deserve some good news. There is still a rule of law out there, and there are people who care about it and will work to enforce it.

Joyce: Earlier this week, you filed a lawsuit, joined by some of your fellow attorneys general, in federal court, challenging President Trump’s order that would strip citizenship from some Americans and put an end to birthright citizenship. Can you explain exactly what Trump’s order does?

AG Brown: The order essentially says children born in the U.S. who don’t have a parent who is a citizen or green card holder would not be born with citizenship, upending 150 years of constitutional law and in direct violation of the 14^th Amendment. The president is essentially saying the citizenship of millions of people born to immigrant parents means less and is valued less than the citizenship of other Americans, so it should be taken away going forward. He’s wrong.

Joyce: In the lawsuit, you argue that Trump’s order is unconstitutional. Can you explain the argument you make and also tell us how you assess your chances of winning? Is this a close case, or is it a clear winner?

AG Brown: The citizenship clause of the 14^th Amendment is unambiguous that in virtually all cases of someone being born in the United States, they are a citizen. The White House is misinterpreting language in the clause that says “and subject to the jurisdiction” of the U.S. There are very few cases of births in the U.S. for individuals “not subject to the jurisdiction” of the U.S., such as the children of diplomats. This order also violates a federal statute, in which Congress codified the grant of birthright citizenship in the same terms.

When Judge Coughenour granted our temporary restraining order, he told the DOJ attorney that he had never seen an example of something so “blatantly unconstitutional” and clearly illegal in his 40 years on the bench. I think that speaks to the strength of our position on this executive order.

Joyce: Given past history, do you worry that the U.S. Supreme Court will ignore clear precedent when this issue comes in front of them, as it inevitably will?

AG Brown: We wouldn’t speculate how any court may consider the arguments in this case. We think there’s a clear legal answer here on the question of constitutionality. One glance at the 14^th Amendment confirms birthright citizenship is the law of the land, and that’s backed up by 150 years of jurisprudence.

Joyce: Are you concerned that Trump will retaliate against you and your fellow attorneys general? On Wednesday, the Justice Department’s acting deputy attorney general issued a policy to all offices directing them to consider criminal prosecutions of state and local officials who don’t comply with the new administration’s policy directives on immigration. Washington can also impact funding, assistance, and other resources for your state. Is this politics as usual, or is something wrong?

AG Brown: We’re not aware of anything that would allow the administration to carry out such a threat, but we take these comments seriously and are taking a strong look at the White House’s maneuvering here. Our nation isn’t governed by one person, as much as Donald Trump would like that to be the case. We will continue to use every resource we have to uphold the laws of Washington and protect Washingtonians’ freedoms.

Joyce: How are Democratic attorneys general working together to try and protect Americans as Trump begins to implement many of the policies contained in Project 2025? How far do you expect the new administration to go with that, and do you think the states have the ability to put up new guardrails?

AG Brown: State attorneys general in dozens of states are in regular contact about what’s happening in D.C., how it impacts our residents, and whether these actions violate the law. We’re always looking for ways to collaborate that can help strengthen our efforts.

Our staff have spent over a year looking at Project 2025 and other campaign promises Trump made to prepare for potential attacks on Washingtonians’ freedoms. We also work with the governor’s office, lawmakers, and others to make sure all of state government is in a position to guard against harmful federal policies.

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We’re in this together,

Joyce