New York Attorney General Letitia James has spent years trying to bring down Donald Trump. But now? She’s the one on defense. After a relentless legal campaign against the former president, James is facing a brutal counterpunch from the Trump administration—and it’s left her visibly shaken.
At a fiery press conference, James lashed out over Trump’s latest move: halting federal payments to the state of New York. Her outrage was on full display, calling the decision “unacceptable, unconstitutional, ultra-bias”—whatever that means.
“The Treasury and the President of these United States are not above the law,” James declared.
For someone who spent years insisting that she was above the law when it came to targeting Trump, this is quite the reality check. Not only has her campaign against him failed to sideline him politically, but now she is under legal scrutiny—and it’s coming from the very Justice Department she once tried to weaponize.
DOJ Sues New York Over Sanctuary Policies
Just days before James’ meltdown, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced a federal lawsuit against the state of New York, targeting Governor Kathy Hochul, James, and DMV Commissioner Mark Schroeder. The reason? New York’s refusal to enforce immigration law.
Letitia James is guilty of inflating the value of her assets to qualify for mortgages to purchase commercial properties, campaign finance fraud, covering up sexual assault by her chief of staff and her own act of sexual assault. Absolute proof of all of this is in hand. This… https://t.co/q7yPrlOoHU
— Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) February 14, 2025
The lawsuit challenges the state’s sanctuary policies, which shield illegal immigrants from deportation and limit cooperation with federal law enforcement. Bondi didn’t mince words, stating that the DOJ will no longer tolerate states ignoring federal immigration laws at the expense of public safety.
And that’s just one of James’ problems.
The Fight Over Elon Musk’s DOGE
James is also leading the charge against Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—Trump’s aggressive initiative to slash wasteful spending and overhaul the federal bureaucracy.
Attorneys general from 18 states have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, specifically targeting Musk and DOGE for allegedly accessing Treasury Department records without congressional approval. James, along with Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, argues that Musk is not a government official confirmed by the Senate and should not have access to critical financial systems.
James tried to frame the lawsuit as a defense of democracy.
“Elon was not voted in by the people,” James ranted. “The American people deserve better. We will be in the courthouse time and time again. The American people will not back down.”
What James fails to acknowledge is that Trump was voted in—by over 77 million Americans—and that his administration has full constitutional authority to direct federal agencies. Musk, as head of DOGE, is simply executing the president’s vision of cutting government bloat.
Court Battles Intensify
The legal war reached a critical stage last week when U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas issued a temporary restraining order blocking DOGE from accessing Treasury systems that handle trillions in payments.
This is exactly the kind of legal roadblock Trump and Musk anticipated. But make no mistake—this fight isn’t over.
The case is now heading toward a crucial court hearing on Friday, where Democratic attorneys general will argue for a more extended preliminary injunction to keep Musk from gaining access. With trillions of taxpayer dollars at stake, this is shaping up to be a defining battle over who controls the federal purse strings—the elected president or unelected bureaucrats?
