Bloomberg Law: Democrats Battling Trump Administration (Audio)

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buy the company Johnson. Johnson walked away from a twenty eight billion dollar deal for Actillion on Tuesday, and Air France KLEM has risen five point eight percent. The airline's KLM unit dropped the plan to set up a replacement pension fund for its pilots. The pilots union had opposed the move, and the court blocked it two weeks ago. Now, Japan's Nintendo has fallen seven and a half percent, even though its first mobile game ranked first on best seller

lists in sixty eight countries. The game is called Super Mario Brothers, and one thing that concerns analysts is that it requires users to pay ten dollars to move beyond the first three levels. Charlie, all right, thank you very much, Dave Wilson. Following a d RS force the DAL the SMP nez dak all trading Laura recapping the SMP down four to twenty two fifty seven to drop there of two tenths of one percent. I'm Charlie Pelots and that June Grosso and Greg Store is a Bloomberg business flash.

Thanks Charlie, see you in court. That may be the response of Democratic attorneys general across the country if the Trump administration backs off of financial, environmental or antitrust regulations. Former Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, now Texas governor, made a business of suing the Obama administration with more than forty lawsuits. Virginia and Florida, a g s filed dozens of lawsuits. Several Democratic attorneys general are on record as ready to take Trump to court if he crosses the

constitutional line. New York AG Eric Schneiderman already sued over Trump University, and he's reassured New Yorkers who have seen a rise in the number of hate crimes in the state in the past year after the quote ugliness of the rhetoric during the campaign. As New York's top law enforcement officer, I stand here today to tell everyone was understandably scared that my tent team stands with you, with our colleagues and law enforcement across the state, and we

will have your back. And California's new attorney general, Congress Congressman Javier Bsara, has dared Trump to come at us over some of the most liberal state policies in the country. He spoke about the parameters for protecting the state's progressive values on MSNBC a week ago. We're not going to stop, and we're not interested in having folks try to stop us.

Will look at the Constitution of the United States, and we'll look at our California constitution and recognize that, as any other state, we will do whatever the u. S. Constitution allows us to do to protect our people and advance our interests. Our guest today are James Tierney, the former Attorney general of Maine and a lecture at Harvard Law School, and Paul Millette, a professor of political science

at Marquette University. Jim Republicans have used the argument that states serve as a check on federal overreach as gospel for the past eight years. Will the legal tactics they used help democratic ages in the next four years? Well, I think it will help. And it's any general who's worried about federal overreach. I wouldn't assume, as some of the latest suppress has been that Republican attorneys general are are somehow turned themselves into the him made of the

Trump administration. I don't think that's true. Every age will protect their state's position in the world of sovereignty and they'll protect the state laws. Um. So yeah, they're all watching. There's no question they're all watching. What are they going to do? Well, we have to wait and see, Paul, as you look over the legal landscape, and of course we don't know exactly what the Trump administration is going

to do. But where do you think democratic state attorney general's attorneys general are likely to have the biggest impact? Is that filling in the regulatory gaps? Is that challenging, say,

environmental regulations. Where do you see them making a mark? Well, I think, just in terms of pure quantity of litigation, I think the one of the big focal points will be definitely an environmental policy um and so at the beginning of the Trump administration, I think it will be some continuing skirmishes over some of Obama's regulatory efforts like the Clean Power Plan, the Waters of the US Rule,

and other things like that. But I think throughout the Trump administration I would expect to see quite a lot of wrangling over um de regulatory efforts coming out of the e p A and UH potentially a variety of other new environmental issues coming out of out of the

next few years as well. And I would just add that I think part of it will be going after the FEDS directly, so suing the e p A, trying to delay or stop deregulatory efforts, but some of it will also potentially be going after say utilities or industry in general kind of similar to what some AGS have done UM investigating Exxon over the past year and their connection to UM climate research and potentially UM you know,

sweeping some of that research under the rug. So I see those areas being particularly prominent areas for egs in the coming years, Jim, any other hot button areas were democratic ages have the best chance of winning, well, I think I think, you know, my friend Paul makes some good points, but he, I'm sure would say that a lot of that sort of speculation. As this point, we we really don't know. UM. I think ages are going to be very focused on criminal justice reform, and we

don't know what the Trump administration's position will be. All ages are against hate crime, UM, and we'll you know, we'll roll up to sleeves on that to try to make our communities feel safe. I think dealing with an increasingly diverse population that we have in this country, if you're in a G is pretty important. I mean, what kids are in school, what about witnesses in court? What about victims of crime? UM? A lot of these things, don't you know, don't pay attention to some of these

legal status in the country. So I see a lot of diversity related issues, which are which which are here now, and they're not going to go away. That's why I'm not really kind of predicting. Um. You know, I think I think former CIA director Robert Gates made a good point yesterday when he said, you know, people say one things in campaigns, they act a lot differently once you're in office. And I think that all ages, and democratic ages in particular, are certainly willing to give the Trump

administration the chance to see what they're really going to do. Um. He does come in personally with a bad rep from his Trump University days. Every attorney Dan will look at that case and was pretty disturbed by the behavior of Trump University. That was none of the partisan issue. Uh, So they disturbed. He's on everybody's watching list. Uh and maybe the attorneys general are looking particularly closely. But we'll

have to wait to see what happens. Paul, granting Jim's point that some of this is speculative, you know what you mentioned the environments, and that is one area where his nominee nominee to up the e p A is somebody who one would expect to be more favorable to industry.

Will it be is easy for Democratic ages to challenge uh deregulation in the environmental sphere as it was for Republicans to challenge what they considered to be over regulation from the e p A. Well, it's a little tricky because I guess you could give an answer both yes and no. They're I mean, I think on the on

the side that it's a little bit harder. UM. I think part of it is, you know, depending on what Republicans in Congress do, like, for instance, that they amend the Clean Air Act to actually take some of the power away from the e p A to say, regulate greenhouse gases, then it's going to be very difficult for Democratic A g s to try to challenge um, the EPA and court if they say, hey, look, Congress has

taken away our ability to even regulate in this area. UM. One thing that I think democratic ages or maybe just A g s in general, do have though, is if they are concerned that the e p A other agencies are not regulating properly, they can number one to the agency, but they can also go after, you know, utilities that they think are are polluting beyond the the what's acceptable under federal environmental law or state environmental laws, and so in one way, I think though they'll still have avenues

to hold that thought. Ye. Coming up on Bloomberg law. Donald Trump's business interests are under fire as possible conflicts of interest, and one hotel in particular seems to be drawing the most attention. I'm June Grosso with Greg Store. This is Bloomberg Mobile Business News twenty four hours a day at Bloomberg dot com. The radio blows mobile line and on your radio is a Bloomberg business left from Bloomberg World Headquarters. Signed Charlie Pelotadal The SMPT and stack

all declining right now. This after a report that China's navy seized an American drone in international waters in the South China Sea. This update brought you by Bentley University. What do developing apps at Facebook and analyzing data biogen have in common? An NBA from Bentley University, where you will explore innovation and leadership because business is everywhere. Prepare here has and P five hundred in decks down six to twenty two fifty five, a drop of three tenths

of one percent down. Industrials down twenty four decline of one tenth of one percent, and nez Dak is falling twenty one points, down four tenths of one percent. The ten ure up eight thirty seconds, yield at two point five seven percent, Gold up seven sixty to eleven thirty seven, up seven tenths of one percent, Crude oil advancing one point seven percent, up eighty seven cents of arral to fifty one dollar and seventy eight cents. I'm Charlie Tollerton.

That Gregg Store and Jo Grasso is a Bloomberg business

flash and Charlie. One area of President elect Donald Trump's business interests that seems to be drawing concentrated fire from Democrats is the sixty year lease between the federal government and the Trump International Hotel in Washington, d C. According to a December fourteenth letter from four House Democrats, a top official of the General Services Administration, which leas's government buildings, told their staff that Trump will be in violation of

the lease agreement the moment he takes office unless he fully divests himself. Congressman A. Logic Cummings was one of those Democrats and accused Trump of ignoring four decades of White House president on conflicts of interest. This is the same advice to the Department of Justice and the Office of Government Ethics has provided to every president over the

past four decades. G s A announced it does not have a position on the lease provision, and Trump Transition aids said the g s A lease issue will be addressed in January. We've been talking with j Hims Tierney, the former Attorney General of Maine and a lecture at Harvard Law School, and Paul let, a political science professor at Marquette University. Jim the least forbids elected officials from being party to the deal or receiving any of it

of its benefits. Does that seem like a clear contract issue that has to be resolved before the inauguration or can this slide as other conflicts seem to be sliding. Well, well, of course it should be resolved. It has to be resolved. I think if the g s A says they're going to address that, they will. They're competent, their career people, and and you know, he's you know, I don't know if Donald Trump ever thought he was gonna win, but he did, and so now he's got a host of

business issues. I think they're gonna be popping up all over the place, and he's gonna have to figure out his ethics and his complex as he goes along. But he wants he's going to be the president. He can't just do what he wants. Um, we all live by the rules, So he's gonna have to learn how to do that. I want to pick it off a little bit. That that what Paul said earlier. Um, he certainly is accurate when he said this could happen, This could happen,

This could happen. But let me make something clear, because we have a lot of listeners, a lot of business people, Attorneys general, especially democratic attorneys general, are not here lined up to try to stop every de regulatory effort that the Trump administration is going to be carried out. This is very important. Presidents when they get to administer, they get to they get the great deference by our courts and by other elected officials. That's our democracy. Uh And

I think, um so so. But if there's evidence, if there's a good case, if there are facts, if they are statistics, there are clear violation, of course, attorneys general are going to respond. And I think that's what General Bush era General Sneiderman said that the you know at the top of the hour. Um, So I just want to make that clear. I mean, it's not like the ages of the line. They've got a lot of things to do rather than line up and you know, sue

every federal agency is. It's an important, important principle that has to be law, that has to be facts, has to be a clear violation before it gets to the

top of an age agenda. Paul PAULA may ask you to respond to that, But first of me, say, we haven't we you know, seen a real change in the dynamic of of a state attorney's general over the past you know, twenty or thirty years or so, where uh, you know, these we've come to expect these challenges from attorneys general with an administ a white house they don't agree with. But but are we perhaps, as Jim said,

overstating that that it will necessarily happen this way. One thing that's definitely been true over the last ten fifteen years, in particular, is that at least a subset of nationally important issues a g s have gotten much more polarized, I mean, much more willing to um submit amicates briefs and Supreme Court, for instance, on a variety of measures, and also to sue federal agencies over a variety of things.

I think that much is true, But I certainly take the point that number one, we do have to wait and see what happens and what the Trump administration ends up doing. But also going back to a point that Jim made before, there are still an number of areas like criminal justice, in which ages have worked together on a bipartisan besis and whether that continues in the next administration will be interesting to watch. Well, I think it's

I think it's definitely going to continue. And and while and while ages have disagreed, Republicans disagree with the Obama administration in some areas, they are regularly, almost every week there's a joint federal state settlement of some administration some enforcement case which all fit the AG sign onto. So it's it's it's it's important, especially we have a business audience listening that do not be overstated that people feel that this is going to be all these extra lawsuits

flying around all over the place. I think we have to wait and see. And we've seen, you know, we see send the McCaskill as, the Democrats from Missouri saying that she's willing to rethink Obamacare. We see that evidently sent a Schumer of New York is having regular conversations with the Trump Towers. So I mean, I'm you know, look great. Uh, we're not talk about We're gonna have to stop you there. We have a lot more to

talk about and we'll have you both back again. That's Jim Tierney, the former a G of Maine and lecture at Harvard Law School, and Paul Millette, political science professor at Marquette. This is Bloomberg