ABC6 goes one-on-one with Rhode Island AG amid flurry of lawsuits against Trump administration

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — The first few months of President Donald Trump’s second term have been filled with an array of moves and orders.

ABC6 News sat down with Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha on Tuesday to see where attention is being focused.

“I think they should be focused on the effort by the president to sideline the Congress, undermine the Judiciary, and thereby attempting to put all of the power granted by the Constitution in his hands,” Neronha said.

Rhode Island is one of 22 states suing the Trump Administration for a variety of reasons.

Notably, Neronha is leading a lawsuit to stop the withholding of what he’s said is essential federal funding.

“There’s no question that our focus has had to change because of the president’s efforts to concentrate power in his hands along the lines that I’ve described, because he’s doing it in a way that harms Rhode Islanders,” Neronha said.

Meanwhile, Trump advisor Elon Musk has publicly called out Rhode Island Federal Judge John McConnell, who issued an order to block the funding freeze.

McConnell has faced scathing scrutiny from some on social media.

“This is the first time in my memory that a president and people so closely with him have tried to undermine a branch of government in this way,” Neronha said.

The full interview can be viewed below:

Neronha said he has been surprised that Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts has not spoken up.

“Donald Trump, even in his first term, made it acceptable that our leaders can leave the truth at the doorstep and walk into a world of fantasy and try to convince the American people that fantasy is real,” Neronha said. “I think that’s another real danger to our democracy, when our leaders don’t speak truth, that’s a problem.”

ABC 6 asked how officials can go about restoring trust in the judiciary system.

“I think the change begins when republicans who control both houses stand up and do their job,” Neronha said. “Which is to tell the president, ‘We have the power of the purse under the Constitution, stop interfering in our space.'”

President Trump delivered an address to Congress and the nation Tuesday night, lauding his administration’s work in delivering on the promises that won him the 2024 Election.

Neronha said he could not think of one redeeming quality of the current administration.

“As an assistant U.S. Attorney, I worked for republican and democratic presidents,” he said. “But I don’t view the president as a republican anymore, I view him as an authoritarian, and I think those 77 million [voters] are going to have buyers remorse pretty soon if they’re not having it already.”

Neronha was also asked about whether or not he intended to run for governor later this year.

He said he had not ruled that out yet but added he will not support Governor McKee in the primary.

The attorney general’s comments on McKee can be viewed in the full interview posted above.