Is Vermont’s AG Focus on Suing Trump Hindering Local Law Enforcement?

Attorney General Clark will hold a Town Hall in Montpelier on Tuesday, March 18th to discuss her lawsuits against the Trump administration, Answer Questions

Since Donald Trump took office for his second term in January 2025, Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark has been notably active in challenging his administration’s policies through legal action.

In just the first few weeks of Trump’s presidency, Clark has joined or initiated multiple lawsuits targeting executive orders and administrative decisions, prompting some to question whether she is dedicating excessive time and resources to suing the former and current president.

With six lawsuits filed by early March 2025—averaging more than one per week of Trump’s term—critics and observers alike are debating the balance between Clark’s legal activism and her broader responsibilities to Vermonters.

A Surge in Legal Challenges

According to reports from VTDigger and Vermont Public, Clark has joined multistate coalitions to sue the Trump administration on issues ranging from federal funding freezes to the creation of the controversial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk.

As of March 9, 2025, her office had filed its sixth lawsuit, this time challenging mass layoffs of federal probationary employees, alongside 20 other attorneys general. Earlier actions included lawsuits to protect federal funding for health, education, and disaster relief programs, as well as a challenge to cuts in National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funding—moves Clark argues are unconstitutional overreaches by the Trump administration.

Clark has defended her aggressive stance, telling Vermont Public that the rapid pace of Trump’s executive orders—starting on his first day in office—necessitates an immediate and unified response.

“He’s doing something outlandish and blatantly unconstitutional, and we’re responding in a unified fashion—immediately,” she said, contrasting this term with Trump’s first, when Democratic attorneys general were slower to react. Her office has already notched initial victories, such as a temporary restraining order in late January blocking a federal funding freeze, which she hailed as a defense of Vermont’s sovereignty and constitutional rights.

Historical Context: A Pattern of Litigation

This isn’t Clark’s first rodeo with Trump-related lawsuits. During Trump’s first term (2017–2021), Vermont’s Attorney General’s Office, where Clark then served as a staff attorney, participated in 60 lawsuits against his administration. Nationwide, state attorneys general filed 138 multistate lawsuits against Trump’s policies over those four years—nearly double the number filed against the Obama and Bush administrations combined, according to NBC News. By contrast, under President Biden, Vermont’s legal actions against the federal government were minimal, with Clark noting only a suit against the FDA and occasional defensive interventions to protect Biden-era policies.

The current spike in litigation reflects a broader trend among Democratic attorneys general, who have sued Trump’s second administration at a brisk pace. As of late January 2025, 23 states, including Vermont, had already challenged a funding freeze by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), arguing it violated Congress’s budgetary authority. Clark’s participation in these efforts has drawn praise from allies but raised eyebrows among those who question her priorities.

Criticism and Concerns

Critics argue that Clark’s focus on Trump may divert attention from pressing state-level issues like affordability, housing, and public safety—concerns Vermonters consis

tently rank as top priorities. With the Attorney General’s Office managing a broad portfolio, including consumer protection and criminal justice, some wonder if the resources spent on federal litigation could be better allocated elsewhere.

The time-intensive nature of coordinating with other states, researching executive orders, and preparing legal filings could strain her office’s capacity to address local needs.

No direct public statements from Vermont residents or officials accusing Clark of neglecting her duties have surfaced in the available data. However, the sheer volume of lawsuits—six in less than two months—invites scrutiny.

For comparison, during Trump’s first term, the 138 lawsuits spanned four years, averaging about 34 per year, whereas Clark’s current pace projects to over 36 annually if sustained. This acceleration suggests either a more aggressive Trump agenda or a more proactive legal strategy—or both.

Clark’s Defense: Duty and Impact

Clark counters that her actions are not discretionary but a core part of her mandate to uphold the rule of law. “My job as the Attorney General of Vermont is to make sure that any time the United States Constitution is violated or federal law is violated, we bring Vermont to court,” she told WAMC. She emphasizes the tangible stakes for Vermonters, pointing to programs like WIC, Head Start, and LIHEAP—federally funded initiatives supporting low-income families—that were threatened by Trump’s funding freeze. Her office’s success in securing injunctions, such as the Rhode Island court’s order restoring frozen funds, underscores her argument that these lawsuits deliver results.

Moreover, Clark frames her efforts as a collaborative necessity, not a solo crusade. By joining multistate coalitions, Vermont leverages the legal firepower of larger states like New York and California, minimizing the burden on her office’s budget and staff. Solicitor General John Rose, who assists in analyzing Trump’s orders, told Vermont Public that the process involves daily review and coordination with other states—a streamlined approach to maximize efficiency.

Too Much Time—or Not?

Whether Clark is spending “too much time” suing Trump hinges on perspective. For supporters, her actions are a vital check on federal overreach, protecting Vermont’s interests against a president whose policies they view as reckless. Federal judges, including one appointed by a Republican who called a Trump order “the most unconstitutional thing he ever saw,” have validated some of her claims, bolstering her case.

If her lawsuits continue to yield victories—five of the six have already blocked Trump policies temporarily—she can argue that the time spent is justified by the outcomes.

Yet the pace of litigation raises legitimate questions about sustainability and focus. If Trump’s administration maintains its flurry of executive actions, Clark could find herself locked in a perpetual legal battle, potentially sidelining other duties. Without clear data on her office’s workload distribution or public opinion in Vermont, it’s hard to quantify the trade-off. What’s certain is that her tenure is shaping up as one defined by confrontation with Trump—a role she seems prepared to embrace, for better or worse.

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