Democracy Forward, a liberal-leaning legal organization that frequently battled the first Trump administration in court, on Thursday unveiled a large-scale new effort aimed at thwarting President-elect Donald Trump’s second-term agenda from his first day in office.

More than 800 lawyers at 280 organizations have begun developing cases and workshopping specific challenges to what the group has identified as 600 “priority legal threats” — potential regulations, laws and other administrative actions that could require a legal response, its leaders said. The project, called Democracy 2025, aims to be a hub of opposition to the new Trump administration.

Unlike in 2017, when Democratic lawyers were unprepared for the onslaught of conservative policies, the intent is to be ready to unleash a flurry of lawsuits immediately.

“We’re leveling up and lawyering up,” said Skye Perryman, the CEO of the organization. “This wasn’t something that just everybody woke up the day after the election and started to plan.”

Democracy Forward has spent the last two years working to identify the possible actions the new Trump administration could take on issues Democrats see as key priorities to defend, the group’s leaders said, using as a blueprint Trump’s first-term actions, his campaign promises and plans released by his allies, including the Heritage Foundation and its Project 2025 agenda.

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Issues Include Abortion Rights, Climate

Those issues include abortion rights, health care, climate, union protections, environmental protections and immigration. But the group has also given particular weight to Trump’s promises to weaponize the systems of government, particularly the Justice Department, against those he sees as foes, along with his vows to dismantle federal agencies and fire thousands of government workers.

The flotilla of lawyers is preparing to challenge new regulations released by the Trump administration, even beginning the process of recruiting potential plaintiffs who would have legal standing in court. But they’re also exploring ways to take over the defense of Biden administration policies mired in litigation, such as student debt relief and women’s health protections, that are currently being defended by the Justice Department. A new Trump administration would be unlikely to continue that defense.

How the effort fits into a broader constellation of Democratic Party leaders, advocacy groups and others developing plans to push back against the Trump administration remains unclear.

Democracy Forward has deep ties to a number of prominent party strategists and lists Marc Elias, a powerful election lawyer, and Ron Klain, President Joe Biden’s former White House chief of staff, as members of its board.

The group spent much of the first Trump administration challenging policies like Republican attempts to roll back the health care law and impose new restrictions on immigration. During the Biden administration, it provided legal support for Democratic efforts to protect emergency abortion care, uphold the ability of Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug pricing and regulate e-cigarettes.

The coalition has built a multimillion-dollar war chest for its new focus. Its partners include a broad swath of organizations, including unions, immigration advocacy organizations and groups working on abortion rights, civil rights and consumer protection. The group’s legal efforts will be paired with a website designed to showcase its work for the public and to encourage more lawyers, experts and civilians to join its cases.

“This is still a huge uphill battle, and it’s going to take everybody doing their part,” Perryman said. “It’s not just lawyers. It’s going to take institutions willing to stand up against extremism.”

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Lisa Lerer/Eric Lee
c. 2024 The New York Times Company