Trump was elected to be president with less than 50 percent vote but they did NOT make him a king

Echo opinion published in the Detroit Free Press: 

By Dana Nessel is Michigan's Attorney General 

Last month, my department began filing cases against the Trump Administration for executive actions which are clear violations of federal law and the U.S. Constitution.

As the state's attorney general, I filed these suits under the authority of my office, the Michigan Department of Attorney General, on behalf of the people of the State of Michigan, and as a constitutional officer of this state who is sworn to protect and defend the rights, liberties and freedoms of Michigan residents.

Donald J. Trump is the duly elected president of the United States. That position and his office grant him great power and authority. But like all presidents, he and his appointees remain bound by the laws that govern our great nation.

I will not initiate or join litigation against the president simply for the sake of policy disagreements or politics.

Trump won the election, and elections have consequences. However, the concepts of separations of powers, the non-delegation doctrine and an arbitrariness review by the judiciary are not new to the oval or executive offices.

I have grave concerns regarding many of the proposed actions Trump, and those who have been nominated to serve in his administration, have publicly promoted.

Many of these actions, if implemented, would involve flagrant violations of the U.S. Constitution, the Administrative Procedures Act, and other federal laws and long-held standards by which all public officials must abide.

Presidents aren't kings♚ (Just 0.15 percent of all voters determined Trump’s 2024 victory)

Winning an election does not allow a president to implement his policies free of all legal constraints or constitutional considerations. Simply saying so can’t make this untrue. The courts have said so time and again, in regard to each and every man to serve in this office and in the federal government, since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Marbury v Madison was published in 1803.

Here’s when legal action is appropriate: If the policies of the administration and the federal government, violate the law, and, by doing so, inflict specific, concrete harm or injury to the State of Michigan or her residents. In such cases, I am bound by my oath of office to take action.

While it’s true that a majority of Michigan voters selected Donald Trump to serve as our president, the whims of the majority cannot and should not be permitted to infringe upon any resident’s rights and liberties.

It’s the guiding principle upon which America was founded, and has operated for more than two centuries.

I'm prepared to do what I've always done💥

When I first ran to be Michigan Attorney General in 2018, I did so with the pledge and the promise of holding the federal government accountable for legal transgressions and trespasses committed against the people of this great state.

I did my best to keep that promise in my first term of office, and I believe the voters of this state expect no less of me in my second term.

My hope is that Trump and his administration plan to implement his policies in a lawful manner that supports the safety, security and general welfare of Michiganders and of all Americans.

But in the event our laws are compromised, I will be prepared to do what I’ve always done, as an elected official responsible for defending our constitution: protect and defend the people of the state of Michigan.

Dana Nessel is Michigan’s attorney general.