Federalism by Extortion Comes to Minneapolis
It is hard to think of a more extreme example of a federal government effort to "commandeer" state or local government action than the Department of Homeland Security's "Operation Metro Surge" in the Twin Cities. President Trump and AG Bondi disapprove of policy decisions made by Minnesota and Minneapolis elected officials, from the way they have chosen to prosecute federal benefits fraud cases to their limitations on cooperation with immigration enforcement agencies. So in order to coerce Governor Tim Walz or Mayor Jacob Frey to comply with its preferred policies, the Trump administration has deployed thousands of ICE and CBP agents to terrorize the people who voted for them (and who largely did not vote for Trump). On this reading , Minnesota's lawsuit alleging, among other things, that Operation Metro Surge violates the Tenth Amendment's prohibition on commandeering should be a slam dunk for the state. So why did Judge Katherine Menendez (a Biden app...