When commenters talk about taking the fight to Trump, the focus is typically on the House and the Senate. And it certainly makes sense. It is in the Senate and the House where Republicans are attempting to pass legislation enabling Trump’s tariff rampage, his plans to make the rich richer and the poor poorer, his promotion of his racist anti-DEI obsessions, and the codification of blatantly illegal and unconstitutional acts.
But one place the fight takes place that is forgotten is in the offices of Democratic Attorney Generals. They have repeatedly sued the Trump administration and won injunctions to stop many of his most egregious and illegal actions.
Earlier, I profiled Dana Nessel, AG of Michigan www.dailykos.com/.... Today, the focus is on Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell.
Andrea Campbell’s early life was one of challenge and perseverance. As she wrote on her web page at www.andreacampbell.org/…,
Growing up in Roxbury, Andrea’s life was filled with instability. When Andrea was eight months old, she lost her mother to a car accident while going to visit her father in prison. She and her brothers bounced around – living with relatives and sometimes in foster care – until her father got out of prison when she was eight years old, and she met him for the first time.
Andrea and her family relied on public housing and food assistance while her grandmother struggled with alcoholism. Her two brothers sadly cycled in and out of the prison system. She lost her twin brother Andre, when he passed away while in the custody of the Department of Corrections as a pre-trial detainee.
Through all of this, Andrea persevered. Thanks to loving relatives, community support and a network of teachers who encouraged her, she turned pain into purpose. She graduated from Boston Latin School and then worked her way through college with the help of grants and student loans, graduating from Princeton University and UCLA Law School.
After acquiring her degree in law, she worked first as an employment attorney and as legal counsel to Governor Deval Patrick.
She entered electoral politics when she ran and won a seat on Boston City Council. In her election, she unseated an incumbent who had been on council for 32 years.
Within two years of her election, she was voted council president.
Her first piece of legislation as a councillor, according to her website, was the Community Preservation Act. This act generates of $20 million annually for affordable housing, parks, and historical preservation www.andreacampbell.org/....
While on City Council in 2020, a police officer murdered George Floyd and protests erupted across the country, including in Boston. She challenged her colleagues on City Council to ask the right questions about what they saw on the streets of their city. The following is quoted from an article in the Princeton Alumni Weekly, paw.princeton.edu/...
“Right now,” she said, “we have an opportunity, not only in this city, but in this country, to start asking tough questions. We are focusing on the wrong ones. We’re focusing on: Why are they so angry? Why are they looting? Why are they yelling at police? Those questions are important, absolutely. But if we are all committed not to be back here again, we have to ask: Why would a man press his knee on another human being’s neck while he cried out for his mother, while he cried out several times for help?”
She paused for a moment. “Folks of color, we know the answer,” she said. “It’s race and racism. It’s at the foundation of this country.” Turning to her white colleagues and constituents, naming them as allies, she asked for empathy and introspection about the pain African Americans were feeling, and a commitment “to do the tough work” of making change. She talked about root causes of injustice and the ways that racial inequality shows up not only in policing, but also in housing, education, health care, the food system, “you name it.” She told them, “We have a chance to do some meaningful things. And, frankly, things that needed to be done a long time ago.”
In the aftermath, she didn’t simply parrot slogans but proposed real reforms to the way police departments are run. “She released an action plan calling for a number of changes in the public-safety department, including diversity in hiring, a civilian review board to investigate misconduct, a ban on chokeholds, and an end to military tactics and weapons” paw.princeton.edu/…
Her passion for criminal justice reform and civil rights are bound up in her family. She often speaks of her two boys and the future they may have. In a simple but profound statement, she summed up what is likely the feelings of most Black parents, “I look at my boys, and I want them to have more opportunity than I did,” she said, “and for other folks to value their lives just as much as I do.” paw.princeton.edu/…
In 2022, she was elected as Massachusetts Attorney General. During the campaign, she centered her family and lived experience, and her importance as a role model, saying, “We say representation matters, when we win tonight, and I'm going to put it out there because we're going to work hard to win, I know what it means for every little girl, or anyone who feels left out and left behind and doesn't envision themselves taking on some leadership role, especially coming from a tragic upbringing."
Andrea Campbell has brought her remarkable determination, her intelligence, and her skill not only to her position as Attorney General but as one of the individuals at the forefront in the fight against Donald Trump.
So, what has she been doing to fight Trump? Quite a lot, really. In fact, I would challenge anyone to point to someone who has done more.
Her fight started the day of the election, when she recognized and started to prepare for the conflict ahead.
Andrea Campbell followed through on her promise “not to shy away or back down from the critical work ahead”. In the first 100 days of the Trump regime, she sued over a dozen times and won injunctions against some of his more blatant unconstitutional and illegal acts.
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In Trump’s first 100 days we’ve already seen attacks on the rule of law, vulnerable communities, and the economy all at the expense of Massachusetts residents and families.
We're doing everything we can to hold this administration accountable.
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/04/28/m...
— AG Andrea Joy Campbell (@massago.bsky.social) 2025-04-30T00:01:30.429Z
Below are some of the issues for which she has taken Trump to Court.
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For many Americans, Social Security benefits make it possible for them to meet basic needs like food, shelter and health care. We can't stand idly by while Trump and Musk try to dismantle it.
Yesterday, I filed a brief urging the courts to protect Social Security from DOGE's reckless actions.
— AG Andrea Joy Campbell (@massago.bsky.social) 2025-04-16T15:13:00.107Z
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It is disgraceful that the Trump administration is using their “Ideological Deportation Policy” to silence students and faculty for their political beliefs.
I’m co-leading a group of AGs in calling on the courts to block this dangerous policy and protect university communities.
— AG Andrea Joy Campbell (@massago.bsky.social) 2025-04-11T21:03:47.027Z
One of her most important actions is her work is in Consumer Protection. She has, as noted, sued the federal government over its attempts to destroy the CFPB. She is also using her office to continue to serve consumers as Trump tries to give companies and grifters a free ride.
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While Trump is destroying the economy, our office is working to lower prices for Massachusetts consumers.
Nobody should have to pay unnecessary fees because of company’s deceptive practices – we're making costs more transparent BEFORE you pay so you can be an informed consumer.
— AG Andrea Joy Campbell (@massago.bsky.social) 2025-04-17T18:39:58.958Z
She continues to fight for civil rights, including increasing threats to the LGBTQ+ Community.
And she has fought for DEI, explaining why it remains a necessary component for the efficient running of government and business.
Just as importantly, she is out in the community promoting Democratic values and speaking directly to members of the public.
Finally, a summary of the difference between having a compassionate and effective Democrat in government and having a ridiculous, racist, rich Republican.
From the moment Trump won the election in November, Democratic Attorney Generals have prepared to attack his plans in the Courts, and in the court of public opinion. They have used the Courts to stop Trump’s illegal and unconstitutional actions, saving many jobs and government functions in the process. Andrea Campbell has fought alongside her Democratic colleagues while continuing to do the day to day job required of a state Attorney General. Her life experience, her knowledge and her tenacity combine to make her one of the finest Democrats fighting against Republican malfeasance today.
As I have said, it is important for readers of this site to know that the vast majority of Democrats are committed to fighting back against Trump. I don’t have an issue with individual Democrats being criticized, but when day after day we see multiple stories on perceived Democratic failures, and hardly any stories on Democratic successes, a bias in the community forms. And it is not a bias that leads to the enthusiasm and determination needed to fight against Trump.
We often hear that, “only this person is fighting back” when the fact is most Democrats are working hard to push back against Trump’s ongoing descent into fascism. It is important that we promote and advertise those that are. But their stories aren’t being told here, either by paid writers or community commenters. Andrea Campbell has fought against Trump in the courts, in speeches, at protests, in town halls and through social media. Yet she is barely known among the denizens of this site even though her work is among the most substantial being undertaken.
Americans need to join with those engaged in the fight against Trump. Their actions need to be highlighted, their work recorded, and their courage supported. It is for this reason that I chose to amplify the vast majority of Democrats, especially those like Andrea Campbell, that are unheralded and less well known, who are meeting the moment with strength and resolve every day.
If you want even more information on how Democrats are attacking this illegal and corrupt administration, go seek out Janesaunts diaries “Dems Doing What We Want them to do”, which is published three times a week, and lpeacocks Thursday diaries on the Congressional Black Caucus.
T2 has also just begun a series called the Rainbow Roundup, where focus is placed on LGBTQ lawmakers and journalists. And Billboteach has one focusing on Hispanic elected Democrats.
You can gain easy access to all these diaries by following the Democratic Party Spotlight, where all these diaries can be found www.dailykos.com/...
My diaries appear Monday and Friday.
