Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said Friday that the Department of Justice is prepared to “defend” the rights of Wisconsinites. (Baylor Spears | Wisconsin Examiner)
In the wake of former President Donald Trump winning a second term this week, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said Friday that the Department of Justice is prepared to “defend” the rights of Wisconsinites.
Kaul didn’t specify what that would look like, however, and said it would depend on what actions Trump takes once he enters office.
Kaul joins Democratic state leaders from across the country, including in Washington State and Illinois, in announcing how they will handle the potential policy changes that could come from the new Trump administration. Kaul said that the justice department would continue to continue to work with other attorneys general to confront challenges that arise. On the state level, he said the department will advocate for necessary funding for the Office of School Safety, state crime labs and for victim service programs that are facing severe federal budget cuts across the state and country.
“We have been tested in this office… If the new administration infringes upon the freedoms of Wisconsinites or attempts to use our system of justice as a tool for vengeance, we will act,” Kaul said. “We will act to protect the best interests of the people of the state of Wisconsin, we’ll act to uphold equal justice under the law.”
Kaul said future actions will depend on the path the new administration takes. He said that he hopes Trump administration officials will try to find common ground and work across the aisle.
Kaul said it’s “notable” Trump distanced himself from Project 2025, and said he would veto a national abortion ban and wouldn’t repeal the Affordable Care Act. Project 2025 is the Heritage Foundation document that was described as a blueprint for the next Republican administration.
The attorney general said there are “justified concerns” the administration will take another path, however.
“Folks are worried about what the future holds for women’s ability to make their own reproductive health care decisions, about access to affordable health care more broadly, and about whether people may be targeted by the new administration based on their identity, their speech and their viewpoints, or simply doing their jobs as an election worker or a reporter,” Kaul said. “Those kinds of actions are wrong and we are committed at the Department of Justice to standing up against them.”
Doesn’t provide ‘false hope’ on abortion
Kaul said his department continues to defend abortion access while it remains in the hands of states. After being blocked for more than a year following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, access to abortion for pregnancies up to 20 weeks was restored Sept, 18, 2023 by a court order. In a case brought by Kaul challenging the state’s 1849 law, which had been interpreted as an abortion ban, a Dane County judge ruled the law did not broadly apply to abortion.
On Monday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case,that asks if the state’s 1849 law actually bans abortion and whether the state Constitution protects abortion.
While Trump has said he would not sign legislation banning abortion nationwide and Republicans in congress have denied any intention to enact such a ban. But reproductive rights advocates have pointed to provisions in the Project 2025 document calling for a blanket national ban.
Depending on how such a law is written, Kaul warned that there might not be a path under current law to protect abortion access.
“The passage of a federal abortion ban would have enormous consequences for abortion access in Wisconsin and in other states where there currently is access,” he said. “I don’t want to give people false hope that if there is a federal abortion ban passed that there’s likely to be a successful legal challenge. On the contrary, if Congress does pass a ban, people are looking at having their access to safe and legal abortion taken away.”
On potential for National Guard being used for deportations
Asked about Trump’s comments during the campaign that he would use the National Guard to carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, Kaul said that he thinks the “idea of having a National Guard from one state going into another state is not something that… I think most governors of either party want to see.” Only governors can activate the National Guard, but one of Trump’s top policy architects, Stephen Miller, has said that sympathetic Republican governors would send troops to nearby states whose governors refuse to participate.
“We are one nation and following an election, we should try to come together, find common ground and figure out how we can make progress — not divide people state by state based on National Guards,” Kaul said.
It remains to be seen, however, “what rhetoric from the campaign translates into policy actions,” he said.
“There are a lot of different issues that were raised in the campaign, and I think we could see very different approaches taken by this Administration,” Kaul said. He also noted that there has been some pushback from Republican lawmakers on the promises, pointing to comments from Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson that mass deportations were not realistic and that deportation actions should target only those who have committed crimes.
Trump said Thursday, however, that it isn’t “a matter of price tag” and there is “no choice” when it comes to his deportation plans.
Aware of racist texts
Kaul was asked about a wave of racist texts instructing people to report to the “nearest plantation” have been sent nationwide, including to a Milwaukee woman, following the election.
Kaul said the department was aware of the messages and called them “completely unacceptable.”
“Anybody making racist statements, bigoted statements and text messages is something we cannot tolerate,” Kaul said. “I encourage anybody who has information about those texts to contact local law enforcement.
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