Attorney General Brown: Biggest Challenge Against Trump Is Protecting ‘The Rule Of Law'

By William J. Ford, Maryland Matters

January 20, 2026

To Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown (D), it’s about stopping the “chaos coming from Washington” since President Donald Trump returned to office on Jan. 20, 2025.

Brown was reflecting last week on his part in the push by 23 attorneys general from Democratic states and the District of Columbia to challenge Trump administration policies in court. Planning for the lawsuits began after Trump’s election in 2024 and were guided by policies outlined in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, which served as a policy roadmap for the administration and the Republican-controlled Congress.

The first suit was filed the day after Trump’s swearing-in, challenging his attempt to end birthright citizenship. All told, the attorneys general have filed 71 lawsuits against the administration over the past year, with more to come this year.

Brown’s office has led, co-led or joined in more than 100 legal actions – taking part in 51 of the lawsuits, with the rest in briefs filed in support of others’ suits.

“I told Marylanders that I believe that chaos was coming from Washington, and it was putting Marylanders and Americans at risk. Well, chaos came,” Brown said.

In the state’s legal fight against the Trump administration, Brown said during a press briefing the office’s Federal Accountability Unit has helped to preserve billions of dollars in federal funding toward transportation, education, environmental protection and other services.

Maryland sued to restore nearly $400 million for the AmeriCorps program (nearly $15 million in Maryland), to stop the administration from laying off thousands of employees with the federal Department of Health and Human Services and to ensure funding is provided for residents to receive gender-affirming care.

Brown’s office led in an amicus brief filed in October that called the Trump administration’s attempted deployment of National Guard troops in Illinois “unlawful, unconstitutional and undemocratic.” Two months later, the U.S. Supreme Court kept an injunction in place to block the administration from deploying the troops.

Federal judges did grant preliminary injunctions on several cases filed by the attorneys general, such as the administration refusing to release about $5 billion under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, and not allowing the Trump administration to block Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood and other health care providers.

Various lawsuits are pending, including a claim by the state and Prince George’s County in November against the administration’s plans to cancel an approved plan to move the FBI headquarters to Greenbelt, and instead keep the agency in downtown Washington, D.C.

Maryland is leading a lawsuit filed three weeks ago against the U.S. Department of Education. That suit, joined by attorneys general from D.C. and North Carolina, challenges what it calls “unlawful cuts” to congressionally approved funding for Full Service Community School (FSCS) programs.

“We protected rights such as Maryland’s voting rights, whereby the administration attempted to restrict voting rights in Maryland and around the country,” he said. “So, these are issues and matters that … Marylanders care about.

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“I would invite anyone to point to a specific action we brought [against the administration] … when we’re bringing back and saving hundreds of millions of dollars for Marylanders,” he said.

Lawsuits against an administration by the party out of power are hardly new: Republican attorneys general filed scores of suits against President Joe Biden (D), with Texas alone filing more than 100.

But not everyone in Maryland agrees the legal battles are necessary or advisable now, especially with the state facing a $1.5 billion budget deficit.

“There’s been numerous lawsuits over the Trump administration on what I think, on many subject matters that the overwhelming majority of Marylanders agree with,” said Del. Matt Morgan (R-St. Mary’s), chair of the seven-member House Freedom Caucus. “Years ago, politicians used to put the country ahead of their own ambitions and political parties. I’m not sure that’s happening in Maryland.”

But House Majority Leader David Moon (D-Montgomery) said Brown and other attorneys general are just doing what they have to do to challenge the Trump administration’s actions.

“I feel really bad for the attorney general because I’m not sure if he knew he was signing up when he ran for office to be a debt collector,” Moon said. “The attorney general is in court simply trying to get the administration, which is tasked with enforcing the laws, to follow the laws.”