HANNAH WEAVER, HOST: Similar to this recent sanctuary lawsuit, New York City continues its legal battles with the federal government in relation to President Trump’s executive orders. The president has signed over 60 since his return to office, more than any other in American history. Uptown Radio’s Oona Milliken spoke with law and policy makers about how they’re challenging orders they see as unconstitutional.
OONA MILLIKEN, BYLINE: Last week, some progressive New Yorkers were up in arms as a number of NYC hospitals stopped providing healthcare services to young transgender people due to a recent executive order from President Trump. New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a statement calling the decree unconstitutional. And, many lawmakers agree. According to labor lawyer Charles Joseph, many of Trump’s orders lack legal standing, but local politicians still need to challenge them in court
CHARLES JOSEPH: “I guess we can think of the state and the municipalities for the most part as law enforcement against the federal government. Maybe that’s the genius of our founders
MILLIKEN: Joseph says despite Trump’s many orders, a president doesn’t have the power to dictate how federal funding is being spent — that decision is up to congress. He says a local lawyer could also argue that the order violates the 14th amendment -which guarantees all citizens equal rights
JOSEPH: “I think he’s trying to confuse us, we don’t know which one to respond to first. The president is here talking about what money is allowed to be spent, well, that’s not up to the executive, that’s up to the legislative branch.”
MILLIKEN: But Joseph says, Trump’s orders on immigration are another story. This week, the Department of Justice ordered corruption charges brought by local prosecutors against Mayor Adams be dropped. The DOJ said the charges were preventing Mayor Adams from helping the Trump administration carry out federal immigration policies. Joseph says this is where simply upholding local law can’t always stop an executive order
JOSEPH: “Yeah, less about legality and more about personnel. Because, you know, anyone’s going to have a problem pushing a bureaucracy around. They’re trying to tear down the bureaucracy. Because, New York is such an anomaly, it’s like where they shouldn’t have had success, and I think Mayor Adams is the problem.”
MILLIKEN: Edafe Okporo is a City Council candidate for District 7 on the Upper West Side. He agrees - backing existing state law is an effective way to stop any unconstitutional executive orders., He says he’s grateful for the legislative protections the city and state provides. Okporo is from Nigeria. He says he fled his home country due to persecution for his sexuality and he’s worried about the standard that the executive order on gender affirming care could set
EDAFE OKPORO: “We don’t know what other communities that are going to be affected, so this is a time for us to come out in mass and say ‘No’ to an unconstitutional executive order that the president is trying to enforce on us
MILLIKEN: According to Okporo, part of the success of Trump’s executive orders is that some New Yorkers are willing to comply. He says to withstand pressure from the federal government, New Yorkers have to hold their elected officials, like the mayor and City Council members, accountable
OKPORO: The thing he’s trying to do is to use powers that he doesn’t have to intimidate people to fall in line. If he chooses to pass executive orders that are against our state constitution, our elected leaders have to hold our constitution as the right way to go about it
MILLIKEN: In an X post Vice President J.D. Vance said judges aren't allowed to control the president’s “legitimate” power. In a statement released this week the American Bar Association said that some of President Trump’s orders pose “a serious risk to our constitutional framework.”
Oona Milliken, Columbia Radio News
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