While Joe Biden’s presidency comes to an end on Monday, Democrats aren’t stepping down from the fight just yet, as they prepare to battle Donald Trump through the court system.
The Democracy Forward Foundation, a prominent progressive legal group, announced Thursday that it will push back against Trump’s dangerous agenda by targeting his executive orders, of which he has promised more than 100 on “day one.” Among Trump’s potential executive orders is a “shock and awe” strategy of mass deportations.
“We’re confident this center will be a critical resource for opposing dangerous policies in Project 2025 and other harmful and unlawful conduct,” Democracy Forward President and CEO Skye Perryman said in a statement.
Launched in 2017, Democracy Forward is ramping up its four-year plan beginning on Inauguration Day. According to the report, it has already identified 200 potential executive orders that it will fight in the legal system as soon as Trump signs them into law.
“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,” Perryman said. “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.”
Biden administration officials will be joining Democracy Forward as senior counselors, including Karianne Jones, former litigation counsel for the Kamala Harris campaign; Mike Martinez, deputy general counsel at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management; Dan McGrath, senior counsel at the Department of Labor; and Kevin Friedl, outgoing senior counsel at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Additionally, Department of Justice Executive Secretary Emily Ross will join Democratic Forward as deputy chief of staff and senior adviser to Perryman.
This is in line with what Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told POLITICO in December about how Democrats plan to use the courts to combat Trump during his second term.
“I don’t know exactly what [Trump will] do. But I can tell you this: The judiciary will be one of our strongest—if not our strongest—barrier[s] against what he does,” he said.
Democracy Forward will not only challenge the policies that Trump implements, but it will also aim to set legal precedents that will limit the president’s unchecked power in the long term.
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