Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes spoke to a standing-room-only crowd at a town hall in Flagstaff this week, focusing on the impacts of the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency.
During a two-hour public comment period, Mayes heard from local leaders about frozen federal funds and from residents who have lost their jobs.
Among those who spoke were Chair of the Coconino County Board of Supervisors Judy Begay, as well as Supervisors Jeronimo Vasquez and Patrice Horstman, and several county staff.
“Coconino County and our rural communities and the way of life are all at stake,” Begay says.
Others told Mayes they fear for democracy – a sentiment Mayes echoed.
She added that the country hasn't faced danger like this since the Civil War.
“It's very concerning, and we are in the throes of what I think is an attempted coup on our democracy and a very full-fledged constitutional crisis,” Mayes tells KNAU. “We have a president that is ignoring federal court orders and that just doesn't happen. And when that happens, it means that the rule of law is being eroded, if not completely broken. That's why I use that language and I think it's important to describe what's actually happening.”
The state attorney general's office is involved in about a dozen lawsuits objecting to the Trump administration's actions, including efforts to fire federal employees, freeze funding and end birthright citizenship.
Mayes says she believes the courts remain an important battleground, even as the Trump administration has appeared to ignore some court orders in recent days.
“In most of the cases, our [temporary restraining orders] are holding, or our preliminary injunctions, and then we'll see where we are when we get to the Supreme Court,” Mayes says.
Mayes says she and Democratic attorneys general in other states are discussing how to respond if the Trump administration takes further actions in defiance of court rulings.
The Flagstaff town hall was the seventh such event Mayes has held.
“My main takeaway is that there is overwhelming opposition in Coconino County to what Donald Trump is doing to our country,” Mayes says. “There are a lot of federal workers in this community that have already been impacted or are fearful for their jobs, and there are food banks and shelters that are being defunded.”
She says she often comes away from such events with information that informs future or ongoing litigation.
