By Ashley O'Connor
Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh was granted broad authority to sue the federal government last year. In the 19 months since, he has made good on his newfound autonomy.
Below are 22 lawsuits against the federal government that Frosh has been involved in. Click on each topic below to see specifics about the lawsuit, including the defendant, description of the case, and a list of other state attorneys general who are participating in each lawsuit. Read the full story from CNS.
IMMIGRATION
MARCH 2017
Defendant: Homeland Security, State Department
Frosh joined a lawsuit challenging Trump's Muslim ban.
PESTICIDES
JUNE 2017
Defendant: Environmental Protection Agency
Frosh joined seven state attorneys general challenging the EPA for allowing the continued use of chlorpyrifos - a pesticide used on food crops - which has been found to impair brain function and development.
EMOLUMENTS
JUNE 2017
Defendant: President Donald Trump
Filed by Frosh and District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine alleging that President Trump had violated the Constitution's emoluments clause, which prohibits the president from benefiting financially from foreign governments.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
JUNE 2017
Defendant: Department of Energy
Frosh joined 10 state attorneys general alleging the Energy Department lacks energy efficiency standards for products like air conditioning units, power supplies and walk-in coolers.
GREENHOUSE GASES
JUNE 2017
Defendant: Environmental Protection Agency
Frosh joined a coalition of 13 states suing the EPA for not enforcing regulations on greenhouse gas emissions at oil and gas sites.
METHANE EMISSIONS
JUNE 2017
Defendant: Environmental Protection Agency
Frosh joined 14 state attorneys general and the city of Chicago in an intent to sue the EPA if it did not control methane emissions under the Clean Air Act.
FOR-PROFIT COLLEGE-BORROWERS
JULY 2017
Defendant: Department of Education
Frosh joined 17 other states and Washington, D.C. in suing the Department of Education for not enforcing the borrower defense rule, which protects students who take out predatory loans at for-profit colleges and universities.
CHEMICAL ACCIDENTS
JULY 2017
Defendant: Environmental Protection Agency
Frosh filed a lawsuit, along with 10 other state attorneys general, against the the EPA for delaying a rule meant to protect first responders in chemical accidents.
DACA
SEPTEMBER 2017
Defendant: President Donald Trump, Homeland Security
Frosh joined California, Maine and Minnesota in filing suit against the Trump administration for ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals immigration program. In August, a Texas judge ruled the program unconstitutional but allowed it to remain in place.
POLLUTION CONTROL
SEPTEMBER 2017
Defendant: Environmental Protection Agency
Frosh filed a complaint aganst the EPA for not acting to control air pollution from power plants in five neighboring states.
GREENHOUSE GAS MEASURE
SEPTEMBER,
OCTOBER 2017
Defendant: Environmental Protection Agency
Frosh joined seven state attorneys general in a suit against the EPA after the Federal Highway Administration repealed the Green House Gas performance measure, which was required when building future roads.
AFFORDABLE CARE ACT
OCTOBER 2017
Defendant: Department of Health and Human Services
Frosh joined a coalition of 17 states and Washington, D.C. in a suit against the Trump administration after it ended healthcare subsidy payments under the Affordable Care Act.
GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT RULE
OCTOBER 2017
Defendant: Department of Education
Frosh led a lawsuit -- along with 17 other states -- in suing the Education Department for not enforcing the gainful employment rule, which requires for-profit colleges to adequately prepare students for employment after graduation.
CONTRACEPTION
NOVEMBER 2017
Defendant: Department of Health and Human Services
Frosh joined California, Delaware, New York and Virginia in a lawsuit against the Trump administration's rules denying contraception to women by giving employers control over providing those services.
NET NEUTRALITY
JANUARY 2018
Defendant: Federal Communications Commission
Frosh joined a lawsuit with every Democratic attorney general in the nation to block the Federal Communications Commission from rolling back net neutrality.
CLEAN WATER RULE
FEBRUARY 2018
Defendant: Environmental Protection Agency
Frosh joined 10 states in a lawsuit to prevent the EPA from reversing the "Clean Water Rule," which protects rivers, lakes and wetlands nationwide from pollution.
2020 CENSUS CITIZENSHIP
APRIL 2018
Defendant: Department of Commerce, Census Bureau
Frosh joined 19 state attorneys general in filing a suit against the Department of Commerce to block a question about citizenship being added to the 2020 census.
VEHICLE EMISSION STANDARDS
MAY 2018
Defendant: Environmental Protection Agency
Frosh joined 17 states suing the EPA over the rollback of emission standards on some future car models.
FLIGHT PATTERNS, NOISE POLLUTION
JUNE 2018
Defendant: Federal Aviation Administration
With the support of Gov. Larry Hogan, Frosh filed a petition to the Federal Aviation Administration over altered flight patterns over residential areas in the Baltimore Metro area.
FAMILY SEPARATION
JUNE 2018
Defendant: Homeland Security
Frosh joined a lawsuit of 17 states and Washington, D.C. challenging the Trump administration's policy on separating immigrant families after they crossed the Southern border.
STATE AND LOCAL TAX
JULY 2018
Defendant: Treasury, Internal Revenue Service
Frosh joined Connecticut, New Jersey and New York in suing the Treasury Department over portions of the 2017 federal tax cut that reduce state and local tax deductions.
3D PRINTED GUNS
JULY 2018
Defendant: State Department
Frosh joined a lawsuit against the State Department attempting to block the release of plan's for untraceable 3D guns that could be downloaded from the Internet. A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order to prevent the plans release the next day.
AFFIRMING THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT
SEPTEMBER 2018
Defendant: Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, Internal Revenue Service
Frosh filed a lawsuit demanding the Trump administration declare that the Affordable Care Act is constitutional.