Stephen Miller, Trump’s former top aide, launched a new group on Wednesday with the goal of using the legal system to challenge US President Joe Biden’s policies, and fight back against the latter administration’s attempts to dismantle Trump’s previous initiatives and the overall conservative agenda.
The America First Legal (AFL) group launched its website with blessings from Trump and a board of directors which include former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker, as well as others from the conservative movement.
“As we know, the Radical Left has been relentless in waging their battles in court. Conservatives and America First supporters badly need to catch up and turn the tables, which is why I applaud Stephen and Mark Meadows for rushing to fill this critical void,” Trump wrote in a statement.
“The era of unilateral legal surrender must end—and I hope all America First patriots will get behind America First Legal.”
— Stephanie Myers (@_StephanieMyers) April 7, 2021
According to CBS News, the legal organization plans to use attorneys who worked in the Trump administration, as well as partner with state attorneys general to help mount their legal battles.
In its mission statement, AFL claims that “our security, our liberty, our sovereignty, and our most fundamental rights and values are being systematically dismantled by an unholy alliance of corrupt special interests, big tech titans, the fake news media, and liberal Washington politicians.” They also vow to wage a “forceful defense” of the rights of the American country and way of life.
Biden’s initiatives already face a large defense left behind by the Trump administration, which appointed more than 230 judges to the federal bench and three justices to the US Supreme Court.
“Whenever the Trump Administration tried to implement positive, lawful change that put America First, these extremist organizations filed one lawsuit after another, shopping for the most favorable legal forum,” Miller, who will serve as the group’s president, said in a Wednesday release. “Now, we must turn the tables.”
Many other former Trump officials are using their executive branch experience to assemble teams centered on promoting the former president’s policies. These include Brooke Rollins, who held the role of acting domestic policy adviser under the Trump White House, and National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow, who in December announced they were preparing to launch a nonprofit group. Additionally, former US Vice President Mike Pence launched the Advancing American Freedom organization.