By Democracy Forward has unveiled a bold initiative aimed at countering the anticipated executive actions of President-elect Donald Trump as he prepares to take office. This effort, the Legal Response Center, is set to launch on Inauguration Day and represents a proactive approach to addressing what Democracy Forward describes as “emerging threats” posed by the incoming administration’s policy agenda. Originally established in 2017 during Trump’s first term, the organization is now redoubling its efforts, emphasizing the urgency of a coordinated response.
The stakes have grown considerably since Trump’s first presidency, with his administration now expected to leverage the resources and strategic frameworks established during its initial tenure, writes Politico. With Trump-Vance administration better organized and equipped with tools like Project 2025, Washington’s liberal establishment has grown worried.
But now they’re prepared to go to war in the courtroom to block every possible reform put into place by President Trump in his effort to “drain the swamp.”
The outlet writes that it’s the latest sign of the nascent, albeit much different, resistance to Trump’s second term, as the Democratic Party braces for a better-prepared, organized policy rollout from the new administration. As the president-elect is poised to unleash his sweeping policy agenda, Democrats are preparing for a fight that will play out in the court of public opinion and across the country’s legal system.
“During his first term, Trump’s executive orders made health care less accessible, banned travel based on the predominant religion in certain countries, and made it easier for corporations to pollute our communities,” Democracy Forward President Skye Perryman said in a statement. “This time, the Trump-Vance administration is better organized, has four years of previous experience, and can rely on the policy and staffing infrastructure of Project 2025.”
A slate of recent officials from across the Biden administration are joining Democracy Forward as senior counsel to support the effort: Karianne Jones, former litigation counsel for the Kamala Harris campaign and former OMB assistant general counsel; Mike Martinez, the outgoing deputy general counsel at the Office of Personnel Management and former chief of staff to the assistant attorney general; Dan McGrath, outgoing senior counsel at the Department of Labor, Office of Solicitor; and Kevin Friedl, outgoing senior counsel at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Emily Ross, outgoing executive secretariat at the Department of Justice, will join as deputy chief of staff and senior adviser to the president and CEO.
The response center — which will coordinate with outside groups, litigators, strategists and policy experts — will house its work on the Democracy2025.org website. The team plans to share information about Trump’s actions, catalog them on the site and track legal challenges.
Beyond its legal work, the center will play a critical role in informing the public and mobilizing opposition. Through its website, Democracy2025.org, the organization will track executive actions, provide real-time legal analysis, and document challenges to Trump administration policies.
The new organization will undoubtedly be part of the liberal “resistance,” as they like to call themselves while pretending they’re characters in Star Wars or something.
They won’t be the only ones, however, to, in effect, attempt to perform an end around the American people. In early 2024, liberals in the Pentagon began to make plans to undermine the second Trump presidency.
Now, bracing for Trump’s potential return, a loose-knit network of public interest groups and lawmakers is quietly devising plans to try to foil any efforts to expand presidential power, which could include pressuring the military to cater to his political needs.
Those taking part in the effort told NBC News they are studying Trump’s past actions and 2024 policy positions so that they will be ready if he wins in November. That involves preparing to take legal action and send letters to Trump appointees spelling out consequences they’d face if they undermine constitutional norms.
“We’re already starting to put together a team to think through the most damaging types of things that he [Trump] might do so that we’re ready to bring lawsuits if we have to,” said Mary McCord, executive director of the Institution for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown Law.
Part of the aim is to identify like-minded organizations and create a coalition to challenge Trump from day one, those taking part in the discussions said. Some participants are combing through policy papers being crafted for a future conservative administration. They’re also watching the interviews that Trump allies are giving to the press for clues to how a Trump sequel would look.
Democrats have spent years planning to use the bureaucracy to maintain their power and, much like using lawfare and government agencies or funding to target conservatives, they will undoubtedly justify their actions by claiming to be “defending democracy.”
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