President Donald Trump has spent this year hammering Democrats’ last bastion of power — the states.
Capitals in California to Massachusetts have been among the administration’s favorite targets for frozen funding, canceled renewable energy projects and military deployments.
In turn, Democratic governors and attorneys general emerged as a forceful impediment to Trump’s agenda in 2025 by challenging, slowing and at times blocking the president’s efforts to remake U.S. energy and climate policy.
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It has been an uneven fight, with the legacy of Trump’s moves to centralize power away from the states potentially enduring long after he leaves office.
