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aaron regunberg
Climate Leaders Like This Idea: Jamie Raskin for Attorney General
"A growing number of cities and states are investigating Big Oil for misleading the public about climate change," said the Sunrise Movement, emphasizing the need for a DOJ leader "who's ready to do the same."
Aug 30, 2024
Just over two months away from the U.S. presidential election, one progressive organizer on Friday suggested Congressman Jamie Raskin for attorney general if Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris wins—and some climate leaders enthusiastically welcomed the proposal.
"I know, I know, it's bad luck to talk about personnel decisions before an election," Aaron Regunberg wrote for The New Republic, acknowledging the tight contest between Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump. "And yet, in the wake of last week's Democratic National Convention, discussions about appointments in a potential Harris-Walz administration are already picking up steam, with one position in particular getting attention: attorney general."
"DOJ will be one of the most powerful tools we have to take on Big Oil in a Harris administration, so it's not too early to start thinking about who we'd want to lead the department."
Regunberg cited recent Politicoreporting that the Democratic Party's "political-legal establishment is already buzzing about who might replace" President Joe Biden's attorney general, Merrick Garland. He described Garland's leadership of the U.S. Department of Justice as "disastrous," arguing that "he has acted more like a judge than an advocate and prosecutor," and "consistently prioritized his own personal desire to look apolitical over his duty to, as the DOJ seal requires, 'prosecute on behalf of justice.'"
"The most obvious example is the DOJ's catastrophic handling of Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election," he declared.
By contrast, Raskin (D-Md.) is "a brilliant legal scholar" who managed Trump's historic second impeachment, after the Republican's efforts to reverse his loss culminated in him inciting his supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, Regunberg noted. He was also "a prominent leader" on the select committee that investigated the attack.
Raskin is now the ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. Regunberg argued that although he wasn't mentioned in Politico's reporting—which had some "promising names" alongside options that "fail to inspire much confidence"—the former law professor "would be an inspired and inspiring choice to lead the DOJ."
As Regunberg—an advocate of holding fossil fuel giants criminally responsible for extreme weather-related deaths—wrote:
Who better to redeem Garland's failure to hold Trump accountable for January 6 than the lead impeachment manager who prosecuted Trump's high crimes and misdemeanors? Who better to ensure the DOJ stops bowing to fossil fuel industry pressure than the head of the House Oversight Committee's push to hold Big Oil accountable? And who better to tackle the challenge of out-of-control extremist judges and Supreme Court justices than Congress' leading constitutional expert?
Of course, Raskin doesn't cut a moderate profile like Garland does, and all appointment decisions will be shaped by whether Democrats retain control of the Senate—though it's worth noting that he has a record of collaborating effectively with Republicans, and he managed to win the votes of seven Republican senators during Trump's second impeachment.
While, as Regunberg noted, "it's also not clear that Raskin would even want the job," climate advocates still embraced the idea.
"DOJ will be one of the most powerful tools we have to take on Big Oil in a Harris administration, so it's not too early to start thinking about who we'd want to lead the department," said Fossil Free Media director Jamie Henn, a co-founder of the international climate group 350.org.
It's quite clear where Raskin stands on the oil and gas industry's decadeslong efforts to delay action on the fossil fuel-driven climate emergency. With Senate Budget Committee Chair Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Raskin led a three-year investigation into the sector's "denial, disinformation, and doublespeak," resulting in their joint call for Garland to launch a criminal probe of oil and gas giants.
Sharing Regunberg's piece on social media Friday, the youth-led Sunrise Movement highlighted that "a growing number of cities and states are investigating Big Oil for misleading the public about climate change."
"Harris has campaigned on her own record of doing so," the group continued, referencing her time as California's chief lawyer. "We need an attorney general—like Jamie Raskin—who's ready to do the same."
Sunrise hasn't endorsed Harris, but it's part of the Green New Deal Network, which has, like various other green groups. The movement announced Tuesday that it would work to reach 1.5 million young voters in key swing states to defeat Trump.
Trump, notably, told Big Oil executives in April that he would gut the Biden administration's climate regulations if elected, as long as they put $1 billion toward his campaign—provoking probes from Raskin as well as Whitehouse and Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
Since then, fossil fuel money has poured in for Trump—and as climate advocates have rallied around Harris, her campaign has warned that "oil barons are salivating" over the Republican's potential return to the White House next January.
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Ex-Biden Official Gabe Amo Defeats Progressive Aaron Regunberg in Rhode Island
"The inability to convert on a winnable race," wrote one observer, "should alarm national progressive groups."
Sep 06, 2023
Former Biden administration official Gabe Amo won the special Democratic primary for an open U.S. House seat in Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District on Tuesday, defeating frontrunner Aaron Regunberg, an ex-state representative who was backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Regunberg's loss to Amo, who served as deputy director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, was seen as a significant disappointment for progressives in the heavily blue district previously represented by Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), who stepped down earlier this year.
If Amo defeats Republican Gerry Leonard in November, he will be the first Black person to ever represent Rhode Island in Congress.
Cicilline did not endorse in the crowded primary race, but Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.)—a friend and political ally of Cicilline—backed Regunberg, as did the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC, the Working Families Party, Our Revolution, Friends of the Earth Action, and other progressive organizations.
Justice Democrats, whose organizing work has been key to progressive primary victories in recent years, did not get involved in the race as the group struggles to raise money.
Some local left-wing groups, including the Democratic Socialists of America's Providence chapter, opposed Regunberg and criticized Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez for endorsing the Rhode Island Democrat, pointing to the backing his campaign received from a super PAC.
As The American Prospect's Luke Goldstein wrote in a recap of Tuesday's contest, Progress RI's support for Regunberg included "a $5,000 contribution from his mother and $125,000 from his father-in-law, an executive at a global investment firm."
Amo's fundraising also came under fire.
According to a memo released by the Working Families Party in the final stretch of the campaign, the former Biden administration official's campaign received tens of thousands of dollars from lobbyists working for companies that represent Big Pharma, the parent corporation of Fox News, the oil and gas industry, tobacco companies, and Wall Street.
HuffPost's Daniel Marans noted Tuesday that Amo "got a last-minute assist from former U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, who represented the House seat for 16 years before Cicilline."
After endorsing Amo, Kennedy "aggressively attacked Regunberg in a local television interview," Marans reported, "calling him an 'extreme' ideologue whose support for a smaller defense budget would jeopardize Rhode Island jobs―and even Democrats' hold on the House seat. (Biden carried the seat by 29 percentage points in 2020.)"
But Marans pointed out that "Regunberg would not have been a member of the left-wing 'Squad.'"
"He cited Cicilline as a model of effective progressive governance," Marans explained, "and touted his own work on the passage of state laws ensuring workers paid sick leave, raising the state's tipped minimum wage, creating a commission to study the use of solitary confinement, enacting online voter registration, and encouraging homeowners' adoption of solar panels."
Polling released in the lead-up to Tuesday's race showed that Regunberg was in the lead, but a significant percentage of voters surveyed were undecided in the days ahead of the special election.
Goldstein argued in the Prospect that "the inability to convert on a winnable race... should alarm national progressive groups as they limp into the next election cycle."
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AOC Endorses Aaron Regunberg for Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District
"As a community organizer, climate lawyer, and state legislator—Aaron has been a fierce champion for working people," said the New York Democrat. "I'm proud to support him."
Aug 31, 2023
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Thursday joined the growing coalition of progressive lawmakers and groups backing J. Aaron Regunberg in the crowded Democratic primary contest for Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District.
Regunberg is among a several Democrats running in the September 5 primary for a November special election planned after Democratic Congressman David Cicilline left the U.S. House of Representatives seat in June to serve as president and CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation.
"As a community organizer, climate lawyer, and state legislator—Aaron has been a fierce champion for working people," Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said in a statement. "He helped increase Rhode Island wages for the first time in 20 years and held Big Oil companies accountable for environmental crimes. Now, he's running for Congress to pass a $15 minimum wage and to fight for a Green New Deal. I'm proud to support him."
Regunberg is also aiming to establish Medicare for All, raise taxes on the rich, expand affordable housing, increase reproductive freedom, update labor laws to better serve workers, reform the U.S. Supreme Court, defend LGBTQ+ equality, and tackle gun violence and corporate monopolies, according to his campaign website.
"I'm really honored to have the endorsement of Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, someone who's taken on corporate special interests to fight for a fair economy and a government that works for all of us," Regunberg said. "I look forward to working with her in Congress to build coalitions that can deliver Medicare for All and bold climate action for our communities, and to stand up against Republican attacks on our democracy."
Regunberg has also won the support of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Democratic Reps. Greg Casar (Texas), Ro Khanna (Calif.), Delia Ramirez (Ill.), Jamie Raskin (Md.), and Jan Schakowsky (Ill.) along with several state senators and representatives, human rights attorney Steven Donziger, and climate activist Bill McKibben.
Sanders on Sunday headlined a rally for Regunberg in Providence. According toThe Public's Radio, the senator told the crowd that "now is the time for a political revolution of working families coming together, telling the people on top this country belongs to all of us, elect Aaron and we're going to take a strong step forward in doing just that."
As Semaforreported:
As Sanders spoke to 1,000 people at the Columbus Theatre, a truck circled outside with an electronic billboard, paid for by a fringe candidate, attacking him for "NOT supporting a progressive woman" and "NOT supporting a person of color." Sanders and Regunberg spoke only after female, progressive allies talked about how the candidate helped pass an array of paid leave and wage bills, while convincing them to run for office.
"Why am I, a black Afro-Latina woman, supporting Aaron, over other people of color who are running?" said state Rep. Leonela Felix [D-61]. "The answer is very simple. More than identity politics, Rhode Island needs a champion who will fight to ensure that families not only survive, but that they thrive."
Organizations supporting Regunberg include the Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund, Climate Hawks Vote, Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC, Food & Water Action, Friends of the Earth Action, Moms Demand Action, Oil Change U.S., Our Revolution, and the Working Families Party (WFP).
"It's clear why our country's top progressive champions are coming out for Aaron," Georgia Hollister Isman, WFP's New England regional director, said Thursday. "He's the clear progressive choice, and they know he's the only candidate in this race who will always take on the corporate interests holding people back. These endorsements send a clear signal to anyone who wants a real shot at bringing affordable housing, healthcare, and childcare to Rhode Island—with fierce allies like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders, Aaron can deliver the types of big investments that actually improve people's lives."
The Boston Globe pointed out that "half an hour after the announcement of AOC's endorsement," the campaign of Gabe Amo—who left his job as deputy director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and special assistant to President Joe Biden for this race—announced he has been endorsed by former Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy, who held the seat from 1995 to 2011.
Summarizing analysis from Providence College political science professor Adam S. Myers, the newspaper explained that while "the Kennedy endorsement of Amo reflects support among the Democratic establishment in Rhode Island," Ocasio-Cortez's endorsement "shows Regunberg has 'locked up' the support of national progressive groups and leaders who want to ensure the seat is filled by a progressive," though "support among local progressives is not unanimous."
The American Prospect noted in May that six members of the progressive Rhode Island Political Cooperative released a statement critical of Regunberg's candidacy and Democratic Socialists of America's Providence chapter issued a "no-endorsement" in the race.
"The Rhode Island Political Cooperative's attack on Regunberg is part of a rift within the state's left wing that's become more pronounced in recent years," the outlet explained, citing interviews with several Democratic activists. "The infighting has shades of a familiar dynamic dividing left-wing coalitions elsewhere, which most prominently came to the fore during the New York City mayoral election in 2021. The argument involves how much to emphasize working inside the political system versus organizing outside of it, and how adversarial the left should be against the Democratic Party."
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