'Testing the limits': Conservatives unite with Dems in 'fighting a Republican president'

In the Democratic Party, critics of President Donald Trump have found that many conservatives and libertarians they fought and argued with in the past are now joining them in their opposition to Trump and the MAGA movement.

Those unlikely allies include, among many others, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming), attorney George Conway, retired Republican-appointed U.S. Circuit Judge J. Michael Luttig, GOP strategist Rick Wilson and The Bulwark's Bill Kristol. And some of the hosts on liberal-leaning MSNBC were prominent figures in the Republican Party of the past, including former Rep. Joe Scarborough (R-Fla.), former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele and Nicolle Wallace (former White House communications director in the George W. Bush administration).

Now, in a Friday article published by the conservative Washington Examiner, journalist Kaelan Deese is taking a closer look at right-wing attorneys who are suing the Trump administration.

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"Some of the most prominent minds behind the conservative legal movement are fighting a Republican president and his administration in court, and it's putting these elite attorneys, many champions of the right for their past efforts to combat the administrative state, on President Donald Trump's bad side," Deese explains. "In a series of lawsuits spanning trade, higher education, and legal ethics, historically conservative-leaning lawyers and libertarian public-interest groups are testing the limits of Trump's executive authority during his second term. They argue that constitutional guardrails must apply regardless of who holds power."

Deese adds, "This spring, former Solicitor General Paul Clement joined one of the highest-profile challenges: defending WilmerHale, a major law firm blacklisted by the Trump administration under an executive order targeting firms that represented disfavored clients. The administration accused WilmerHale of undermining national interests due to its past legal work and personnel ties to Robert Mueller's special counsel investigation."

Trump reflexively attacks his critics on the right as RINOs: Republicans In Name Only. But Deese notes that Clement's "conservative credentials are impeccable": Clement spent four years as solicitor general in the George W. Bush administration, and he has fought against gun control in court.

"However, Clement is a vocal advocate of the principle that all legal clients, even those who are unpopular, deserve representation," Deese explains. "Now, representing multiple clients who are challenging Trump administration actions, Clement is not alone."

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Deese continues, "A growing list of conservative and libertarian-aligned attorneys are arguing that fidelity to the Constitution doesn't evaporate when a Republican sits in the White House…. One of the sharpest legal rebukes to Trump's claimed authority comes from the New Civil Liberties Alliance, which has received donations from organizations tied to Federalist Society Co-Chairman Leonard Leo and Koch-affiliated networks…. Now, NCLA is fighting the Trump administration over what it sees as stretching the bounds of what Congress wrote under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The group also has sued in Pensacola, Florida, against Trump's imposition of new tariffs on Chinese imports."

Read the full Washington Examiner article at this link (subscription required).