Washington Gov-elect Ferguson lays out plan ahead of second Trump term

Less than 48 hours after Donald Trump was declared president-elect, one of his most litigious foes was laying out his plan to push back again.

Governor-elect Bob Ferguson sued Trump during his first presidential term nearly a hundred times as Washington state's attorney general. Now, as Ferguson prepares for the governorship, he and the next AG, former U.S. Attorney Nick Brown, are anticipating another four years of legal challenges. Brown has been appointed to a special post in the AG's Office as he transitions into his new role. This gives him access to all briefings as they discuss their plans for 2025.

During a press conference Thursday to lay out those preparations for a second Trump administration, Ferguson said his team began preparing months ago.

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"My team has gone line by line through Project 2025," Ferguson said, referring to a 900-page policy document published by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Ferguson also noted he's looked at Trump's "Agenda47," which laid out his policy proposals during the campaign.

"To be blunt, what is in Project 2025 and Agenda47 constitutes an assault on reproductive rights, health-care access, environmental protections, to name just a few," Ferguson said.

Specifically, Ferguson cited three concerns:

• The Trump administration could enforce the Comstock Act to criminalize or severely restrict birth control nationwide.
• The administration could seek to eliminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program that was started during former President Barack Obama's time in office.
• And the administration could rewrite federal law to remove protections for LGBTQ people, including educational and health-related protections.

Still, Ferguson said Washington is perhaps best situated to push back against these policies and more, and he's already in the process of transitioning the AG's Office to Nick Brown and his team.

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Ferguson said he doesn't want to preview litigation strategy and will have to wait to see specific language included in executive orders, but he laid out three key questions that guided his approach the during Trump's first term.

1. Is the action illegal or unconstitutional?
2. Are Washingtonians being harmed?
3. Did he, as attorney general, have standing to go to court?

"If the answers to those three questions were 'yes, yes, and yes,' then we filed a lawsuit every time without exception," Ferguson explained. "If there was a 'no' in there, and there often was, then we did not file the litigation without exception. I think that discipline served us well."

But he also conceded Trump's administration will likely be better prepared, too.

Ferguson said Trump’s first administration was sloppy, giving his team an edge that they don't expect to have this time. He also noted prior members of Trump's team wanted to "follow the rule of law," some of whom have since turned against Trump. Ferguson said he doesn't think there will be similar advisors keeping Trump in check during his second term.

One reporter Thursday wanted to know whether Ferguson and Brown are also thinking about potential retribution taken against the state in the wake of legal challenges. Politico recently reported (and The Spokesman-Review first reported in 2021) that Trump refused to act on Gov. Jay Inslee’s request in September 2020 for $37 million in federal disaster aid after a devastating wildfire season. According to Politico, Trump let Inslee's request sit for the last four months of his first term, delaying recovery.

Brown said the question of retribution itself was a "testament to the type of person that the United States of America just elected" president. But, Brown added, it would be a "dereliction of duty" to not challenge laws he believes to be unlawful and harmful to Washingtonians.

"I hope to God, I pray these things we're talking about never come to pass. If this team never has to file a single lawsuit against the Trump administration, no one would be more happy than me," Ferguson said later in the press conference. "But I'm not naïve."

Washington’s outgoing governor, Jay Inslee, told reporters Wednesday he’s confident state Democrats are in a strong position to defend their policies during the next Trump administration. He said Trump has limited authority, even as president, to change how the state tackles key issues.

"We can still move forward as the state of Washington – he cannot stop us," Inslee said. "He cannot stop us in our effort against climate change."

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Inslee’s victorious mood comes as voters are rejecting a ballot measure that sought to repeal key parts of the state’s climate law and Democrats are poised to claim every statewide office.

"You can anticipate a lot of noise from [Trump]," Inslee said. "Like the first term, we’re going to have our difficulties with him, but ultimately, we have prevailed in the most basic functions.”

KUOW's Jeanie Lindsay contributed to this report.