Pull to refresh
Logo
Daily Brief
Following
Why
Letitia James

Letitia James

Attorney General of New York

Appears in 7 stories

Born: 1958 (age 67 years), Brooklyn, New York, NY
Party: Democratic Party
Education: Fort Hamilton High School (1976), Lehman College, CUNY, Howard University School of Law, and more
Office: Attorney General of New York
Parents: Nellie James and Robert James

Stories

Trump freezes $28 billion in east coast wind farms

Rule Changes

New York Attorney General - Filed separate lawsuits on January 9 supporting Empire and Sunrise Wind, arguing stop-work orders violate Administrative Procedure Act

On December 22, 2025, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum paused every major offshore wind farm under construction off the East Coast. Vineyard Wind, Revolution Wind, Sunrise Wind, Empire Wind, and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind—representing $28 billion in investment and enough power for millions of homes—all stopped work on orders from Washington citing radar interference and national security risks near military installations.

Updated Feb 10

A democratic socialist breaks through in New York City

Rule Changes

New York State Attorney General - Administered oath at Mamdani's midnight ceremony

Just after midnight on January 1, 2026, a 34-year-old Democratic Socialist placed his hands on two historic Qurans in an abandoned subway station beneath City Hall and became mayor of New York City. Zohran Mamdani's swearing-in capped a remarkable six-year journey from foreclosure counselor to state assemblyman to leader of America's largest city—the first Muslim, first South Asian, and youngest mayor in generations. Within hours, he signed his first executive orders targeting landlords and creating task forces to accelerate housing construction.

Updated Feb 5

Bill Pulte’s FHFA mortgage-fraud crusade faces watchdog scrutiny

Rule Changes

Attorney General of New York - Subject of Pulte‑driven mortgage‑fraud case; grand jury recently declined re‑indictment

In early 2025, President Donald Trump installed housing heir Bill Pulte as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the regulator overseeing Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and more than $8.5 trillion in U.S. mortgage credit. Within months, Pulte began using access to mortgage data to publicly accuse several high-profile Democrats — New York Attorney General Letitia James, Senator Adam Schiff, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and Congressman Eric Swalwell — of mortgage fraud, referring them to the Justice Department amid concerns of political retribution.

Updated Feb 5

The age verification wars

Rule Changes

New York Attorney General - Leading implementation of New York SAFE for Kids Act

A federal judge blocked Texas from forcing Apple and Google to verify every app store user's age, calling the law akin to requiring ID checks at bookstore doors. The December 2024 ruling is the latest defeat in a wave of state attempts to age-gate the internet. Arkansas, Louisiana, Ohio, and Utah have all seen their social media age verification laws struck down as unconstitutional. But Florida scored a rare victory in November when the 11th Circuit allowed its under-14 ban to take effect while appeals continue—the first state law to survive preliminary challenges.

Updated Dec 26, 2025

New York’s RAISE Act turns frontier AI safety into a 72-hour countdown

Rule Changes

New York Attorney General - Empowered to enforce RAISE Act through civil actions and penalties

New York just told the biggest AI labs: if something goes seriously wrong, you don’t get to bury it. Under the RAISE Act, large “frontier AI” developers must publish a safety approach and report “critical harm” incidents to the state within 72 hours after determining one occurred—backed by civil penalties capped at $1M for a first violation and $3M for later violations, far below the bill’s earlier (June) penalty structure cited in subsequent reporting.

Updated Dec 21, 2025

A judge just froze HUD’s homelessness funding rewrite—and put “housing first” back on life support

Rule Changes

New York Attorney General - Co-leading the multistate challenge to HUD’s CoC changes

HUD tried to rewrite the rules of America’s biggest homelessness grant program in the middle of the funding cycle—then acted surprised when states and cities ran to court. On December 19, Judge Mary McElroy told HUD: stop. Not later—now.

Updated Dec 19, 2025

Trump AI order uses federal cash to choke off state tech laws

Rule Changes

Attorney General of New York - Positioning state AGs as frontline defenders of AI oversight against federal rollback.

Donald Trump just turned AI regulation into a states’ rights knife fight. His new executive order creates a Justice Department “AI Litigation Task Force” to attack state AI laws and lets Washington threaten $42 billion in broadband funds for states that don’t fall in line.

Updated Dec 12, 2025