BRATTLEBORO-Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark thinks about her oath of office daily, a pledge to uphold the Constitution of the United States and doing "equal right and justice to all person [...] according to law."
She also regularly draws inspiration from a quote by musician and activist Joan Baez: "Action is the antidote to despair."
Nine months into Clark's second term, her office has filed multiple suits against the Trump administration.
She told an audience gathered in the Brattleboro Union High School's auditorium on Sept. 21 - one of several recent town meeting–style events designed to help people understand the AG's efforts on behalf of Vermont - that President Donald Trump won the 2024 election, and like any other elected chief executive, he has the right to enact his vision.
But being president does not give him the right to break the law, Clark said - "and every time he does, the AG's office will bring a lawsuit to protect Vermonters."
Since January, the office has filed 27 lawsuits against the federal government. The lawsuits include challenging the Trump administration's executive order to end birthright citizenship, a suit against multiple federal agencies for mass layoffs of employees, and a lawsuit challenging the federal rule to make it harder for Americans to obtain health coverage - including gender-affirming care - under the Affordable Care Act.
Clark said the office has also filed more than 50 amicus ("friend of the court") briefs in support of another state's lawsuit.
'A tremendous amount of uncertainty'
For audience members who spoke, their theme was how to proactively respond to the federal government's firehose of uncertainty.
They asked about preparing for raids by ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement), about Gov. Phil Scott's approach to the Trump administration, and about where to focus their energy.
State Rep. Emilie Kornheiser (D-Windham-7) and Sen. Nader Hashim (D-Windham) joined Clark at the lectern.
Kornheiser said, "People are experiencing a tremendous amount of uncertainty. It's easy to become distracted by outrage and retreat into polarization. I have been trying to balance finding some hope and a path through with not feeling or sounding like a Pollyanna, because these are not times for that, really, either."
For her part, Kornheiser's antidote to despair is directing her energy where she can be most useful.
Clark said she wishes her office could spend more time on "the problems that Vermont is facing, not the ones invented in Washington."
"At the same time, I'm truly proud to do this work," She said. "It feels great to be on the front line protecting Vermont and fighting for our democracy."
The rule of law, and what is really being asked
Serving his first term as chair of the State Senate's Judiciary Committee has prompted Hashim, an attorney, to evaluate the role of the courts under Trump.
"It's vitally important to me that there [be] faith and confidence in our judiciary and our government in general," he said.
He said that courts are where we exercise the rule of law and resolve conflict.
Clark said that Trump has shown that he is trying to consolidate power for himself.
"This is America," she said. "We believe in the rule of law, we believe in the three branches of government, we believe in federalism, we believe in the separation of powers, and we believe that no man is a king."
She groups Trump's actions into four categories:
1. Trying to do someone else's job, such as usurping Congress' power of the purse.
2. Trying to diminish the power or influence of institutions, such as law firms, colleges and universities, national nonprofits, and the arts.
3. Cornering states and institutions into concessions they are not required to make, such as swearing to take specific steps related to DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion).
4. Trying to operate outside his constitutional authority.
Clark said whenever she evaluates a Trump missive, such as an executive order, she asks, "What is he actually asking states to do?"
Often, an executive order ultimately asks for something nonbinding (like a report), it makes a recommendation, or it contains language about not violating the law.
She believes the Trump administration uses executive orders to test initiatives' popularity.
Kornheiser reminded the audience that reductions in federal funding and services - passed by a Republican Congress - will be slow to take effect. This strategic approach ensures that people will be slow to perceive the consequences, and they will likely not react angrily all at once.
The slow approach also means that Vermont can prepare.
"So, for instance, there was an article recently in the paper that crisis fuel was not going to go out this year, and that fuel subsidies were not going to go out this year," she said.
"That's not true right now," she said.
Despite cutbacks in the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Vermont, she said, is planning to send out fuel subsidies this year, "and there's likely still going to be crisis fuel money at SEVCA for folks when they apply," she said. "That's not definite, but that's how things are proceeding."
In the middle of the road
Participants expressed frustration with the Scott administration's approach to federal government requests. An audience member who didn't identify herself described the governor's path as "keeping a low profile."
She described the strategy as "if the state keeps its head down, then the Trump administration won't target us," she said - but pointed out that Vermont is being targeted.
The attorney general and the governor are independently elected officers, Clark said, pointing out that she has disagreed with some of Scott's decisions, such as releasing state-collected SNAP data to the federal government.
"I think there are lawsuits that we should have filed that we were not able to due to a lack of cooperation by the governor's administration or the governor himself," she said. "I respect that he is an independently elected person."
Hashim recommended that people ask the governor these questions at in-person events. It's easier to ignore an email, he said, but harder in public.
Kornheiser added, "I think the more we can come together, to learn what's possible, to learn what's happening, and just to look each other in the face and talk about these things, I think the better off we all are to weather what's coming ahead."
Do the state lawmakers feel safe in the current political environment?
Not always, answered Kornheiser and Hashim.
Kornheiser chairs the House Ways and Means Committee. Fox News has highlighted her work a few times, leading to what Kornheiser characterized as "really terrifying phone calls."
"I'm a gay, Jewish woman who controls the money, and so I feel like if there was a target, I'd be that," she said.
Hashim added that it appears that his female colleagues in the Senate receive more threats than their male counterparts.
"I vote the same way as many of them, and the day after, they'll tell me about how they got a dozen emails with just derogatory and nasty remarks, and my inbox is empty," he said.
Preparing for ICE
Retired pastor Lise Sparrow asked for guidance on potential ICE detention of Windham County refugees or immigrants.
Sparrow asked how communities can prepare for such a scenario.
In April, federal agents arrested seven farm workers in Berkshire, a town on the Canadian border. In August, closer to home, agents arrested Davona Williams, of Manchester, who works as a home health aide and has a young son.
Clark said she thinks about Williams, how she contributed to Vermont, and how Trump's immigration efforts have removed her from her home of more than 17 years. Those federal actions left Vermont in a poorer position, Clark said.
"Now she's being detained. How much is that costing us? It doesn't make any sense," she said, acknowledging that immigration policy is an area where states have almost no role.
Clark recommended that people seek guidance from the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project (VAAP), Vermont Law and Graduate School, or the state's congressional delegation.
The attorney general said it's important to act immediately if people know that someone is detained by federal agents. Ideally, the immigration case will be filed in a Vermont court, or a court in another New England state, before someone is shipped outside the region.
An audience member described three black SUVs traveling slowly in their neighborhood and asked: Was this ICE?
Not necessarily, said Hashim, pointing out that state and local agencies outside law enforcement drive black SUVs.
Kornheiser advised people to report incidents through an online form at the VAAP, which uses crowdsourced information to "inform the public about patterns and practices of immigration enforcement activities in our state."
"Don't run to social media," Kornheiser said, advising "those of us that are white or white passing" not to foment "more fear than is actionable."
For people of color whose ethnicity draws the attention of ICE agents, online speculation "means that there might be kids that aren't going to school, or people going out to get groceries," she cautioned.
The Attorney General's Office also maintains information on residents' rights on its website.
We all have a job to do
"You, too, have a job to get done," Clark told the audience. "Exercise your fundamental rights and freedoms."
She suggested speaking up, attending a protest, petitioning the government, writing op-eds for one's local paper, supporting the free press, buying a banned book, volunteering for a candidate in a competitive legislative district, and donating to organizations doing work that matters in your community.
Kornheiser said anyone good at paperwork can help neighbors maintain benefits like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or "food stamps," known in Vermont as 3SquaresVt) by assisting them in filling out forms.
She said that the people most likely to lose coverage in the coming months won't be deprived because they don't qualify for the program. Instead, they'll lose benefits because Republican lawmakers made paperwork more challenging, in ways designed to make recipients stop trying.
The next generation
Three young people in the audience shared their thoughts on engaging more youth.
Isabella May, a BUHS student interning with Kornheiser, said social media is a good way to connect with people of all ages. However, deciding where to focus your efforts can be daunting.
A second BUHS intern, Daniel Mahoney-Schmitt, advised politicians to "go to where the kids are" and make attending events convenient. Right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed on Sept. 10, took his debates to college campuses, he pointed out.
Rowen Hashim, the state senator's daughter, added that many young people "are more interested in politics than it may seem, because we are aware it is directly affecting us, and we just want to help."
Clark said that Vermonters can have the most significant impact at the local level by connecting with their communities.
In the meantime, she pledged that the Attorney General's Office will continue to sue whenever it thinks the Trump administration has violated the law.
"Living our Vermont values is a positive thing we can do every single day, regardless of what's happening in Washington," Clark said.
"We must not despair. Our country is strong. It was literally built to overcome a tyrant king," she continued. "That's what it was designed for, and we are a government by the people of the people, for the people - for all of us."
A version of this story also appears in this week's edition of The Deerfield Valley News, The Commons' sister newspaper.
This News item by Olga Peters originally appeared in The Deerfield Valley News and was republished in The Commons with permission.