Opponents of Donald J. Trump are preparing for potential lawsuits in case he is elected in November and carries out mass deportations, as he has promised. One group has hired a new auditor to be ready for any attempt by a second Trump administration to use the Internal Revenue Service against them. Democratic-run state governments are even stockpiling abortion medication.
A wide network of Democratic officials, progressive activists, watchdog groups, and ex-Republicans is taking extraordinary measures to get ready for a potential second Trump presidency. They are united by the fear that Mr. Trump’s return to power would not only threaten their agenda but also American democracy itself.
“Trump has made it clear that he will ignore the law and push the limits of our system,” said Joanna Lydgate, the chief executive of States United Democracy Center, a nonpartisan democracy watchdog organization that collaborates with state officials from both parties. “What we are facing is extremely dark.”
While the Supreme Court recently rejected an attempt to nullify federal approval of the abortion pill mifepristone, liberals are concerned that a new Trump administration could reverse the approval or use a 19th-century morality law to criminalize its distribution across state lines.
The Democratic governor of Washington State, Jay Inslee, has secured a sufficient supply of mifepristone pills to ensure access for women in his state through a potential second Trump administration. The supply is stored in a state warehouse.
“We physically have it in the state of Washington, which could prevent him and his anti-choice forces from prohibiting its distribution,” Mr. Inslee said in an interview. “It has a life span of five or six years. If there was another Trump administration, it’ll get us through.”
There is always speculation in any election year about the consequences of the other side winning the White House. However, the planning currently underway to resist a potential second Trump administration is unprecedented in terms of timing, scale, and volume. The loose coalition is determined not to be caught off guard, as many were after his unexpected victory in 2016.
If Mr. Trump is re-elected, he openly plans to implement radical changes â many with authoritarian tendencies. These plans include using the Justice Department to retaliate against his adversaries, deploying federal troops in Democratic cities, conducting mass deportations, constructing large camps for immigrant detainees, simplifying the process of firing civil servants and replacing them with loyalists, and expanding and centralizing executive power.
Ian Bassin, the executive director of Protect Democracy, emphasized that the resistance planning should not be viewed as a typical policy disagreement but as an effort to protect fundamental aspects of American self-government “from an aspiring autocrat.”
Many leaders of centrist and left-leaning groups involved in the resistance stress that their primary focus is preventing Mr. Trump from regaining power. However, they are also preparing for the possibility of his return to power and avoiding overlapping efforts. Their concerns are amplified by Mr. Biden’s low approval ratings and his consistent lag behind Mr. Trump in key state polls.
Interviews with over 30 officials and organization leaders about their plans revealed a mix of exhaustion and anxiety. Activist groups that spent the four years of Mr. Trump’s presidency organizing protests and legal challenges are now realizing they may have to resist him all over again.
The group leaders acknowledge that they have learned valuable lessons from 2017 to 2021 on how to run an effective resistance campaign. They also believe that the threat posed by Mr. Trump has grown more sophisticated, especially after the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. They are concerned that a second Trump administration would be both more radical and more effective, particularly on critical issues like immigration.
“What Trump and his followers are advocating is an authoritarian playbook,” said Patrick Gaspard, the chief executive of the CAP Action Fund. “So now we have to safeguard our actual institutions and the values we share.”
The Biden administration has pushed through regulations to prevent them from being overturned under a 1996 law if Mr. Trump wins the election and Republicans gain control of Congress. However, administration officials are hesitant to engage in contingency planning, expressing confidence in Mr. Biden’s re-election.
Steven Cheung, a Trump campaign spokesman, criticized these efforts as an attempt to obstruct Mr. Trump from implementing a legitimate policy agenda.
“It’s not surprising that Biden and his allies are working hard to thwart the will of the American people after they vote to elect President Trump and his America First agenda,” Mr. Cheung said. “Their deceitful actions pose a direct threat to democracy.”
Various groups concerned about the potential implications of a second Trump presidency are starting to collaborate on how to work together.
Representatives from national and local immigration rights organizations recently gathered for a retreat to discuss “Scenario Planning: Post Election Readiness.” This builds on previous exercises conducted online and aims to prepare for various scenarios that may arise following the election.
The anti-Trump conservative group Principles First and Norman Eisen are organizing a conference at New York University titled “Autocracy in America â A Warning and Response” to discuss strategies to resist leaders with authoritarian tendencies.
Maurice Mitchell, the head of the Working Families Party, emphasized that activists are focused on preventing Mr. Trump from regaining power. However, they are also gearing up for potential challenges if he does return to office.
“Many are thinking about what we can learn from the past and how we can apply those lessons going forward,” Mr. Mitchell said. “We need to anticipate various scenarios and leverage all our resources.”
A new wave of litigation
A common strategy to resist the first Trump administration was through litigation that challenged his policies in court. This work sometimes succeeded in blocking actions or delaying policies from taking effect.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a key player in challenging the first Trump administration, is gearing up to play a similar role if he returns to office. The ACLU has hired a new auditing firm to scrutinize its finances thoroughly to withstand any scrutiny from a potential Trump administration.
ACLU Director Anthony Romero revealed that the organization has identified 63 scenarios in which a new Trump administration could threaten individual rights and the rule of law. They are focusing on four key areas for potential legal action: crackdown on unauthorized immigrants, restricting abortion access, politically motivated firing of civil servants, and deployment of troops to suppress protests.
During racial justice protests in 2020, Mr. Trump considered using the Insurrection Act to deploy federal troops domestically but did not sign the order. He has since indicated a willingness to deploy troops in Democratic cities without local consent. The ACLU is preparing to challenge the Insurrection Act in court, arguing that it was not intended for suppressing protests. They also plan to challenge specific troop deployments in specific cities on First Amendment grounds.
Immigration policy was a focal point of resistance in Mr. Trump’s first term, with protests against travel bans and family separations. Immigrant rights groups, assisted by the ACLU, are challenging recent executive orders that could lead to more stringent immigration policies under a potential second Trump administration.
The National Immigration Law Center has been preparing for a potential second Trump term, focusing on intensified attacks and harassment against immigration rights advocates. They are exploring ways to protect advocates from threats, including violence, under a potential Trump 2.0 era.
Democracy Forward, an organization formed after Mr. Trump’s 2016 victory, has developed a threat matrix covering various issues for potential legal challenges against expected Trump administration actions. They are also recruiting plaintiffs to challenge these actions in court.
The focus for those planning for a Trump re-election is on state-level actions that can be solidified before the 2024 election, given the conservative shift in the Supreme Court.
Democratic state attorneys general are studying the strategies of their Republican counterparts in Texas and Florida to prepare for potential attacks by a Trump administration. They aim to learn from red-state tactics to effectively counter a potential Trump administration.
The urgency brought about by the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has prompted Democratic governors and state attorneys general to collaborate to combat new threats to abortion rights. They are coordinating litigation, passing laws to protect abortion providers, and securing emergency supplies of abortion pills in case of restrictions.
California Governor Gavin Newsom founded the Reproductive Freedom Alliance to coordinate strategies among Democratic governors. The alliance has worked on litigation, passed laws to protect abortion access, and secured emergency supplies of abortion pills. This collaboration could serve as a model for resisting Mr. Trump’s agenda on other issues.
Governors in blue states have established stockpiles of abortion pills to safeguard against potential federal restrictions. They have also learned from their experiences during the Covid pandemic, where they had to collaborate with the federal government for assistance. This has prepared them for potential challenges in a second Trump term.
At the Brennan Center for Justice, the focus has been on voting rights issues for the 2024 campaign. They are conducting scenario planning exercises and tabletop discussions to anticipate the potential outcomes of a Trump presidency and mitigate any abuse of power.
Michael Waldman, the Brennan Center president, stated, “We are preparing for the chance to pass legislation strengthening the freedom to vote in a Biden victory and mapping out how to limit the damage from abuse of power in a Trump presidency.”
