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Connecticut Attorney General Willam "Lawfare" Tong is living up to his nickname.

In the past 24 hours, his office issued press releases indicating Tong had joined two different coalitions in filing amicus briefs against the Trump Administration over orders impacting Job Corps and USAID.

The Job Corps Amicus Brief.

First, a coalition of 20 attorneys general, including Tong, filed an amicus brief in support of Job Corps, calling the Trump Administration’s termination of the program "illegal" and said that it "threatens to leave thousands of vulnerable young Americans homeless."

“For six decades, Job Corps has aided our nation’s most vulnerable youth through stable housing and job training. The Trump Administration blatantly ignored federal law and Congressional authority in arbitrarily terminating this program—callously seeking to kick at-risk youth to the curb. Connecticut joins with states across the nation to protect Job Corps and the vital education, support and training it provides,” said AG Tong.

“Job Corps was created to help young adults build a pathway to a better life through education, training, and community,” said Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer. “However, a startling number of serious incident reports and our in-depth fiscal analysis reveal the program is no longer achieving the intended outcomes that students deserve. We remain committed to ensuring all participants are supported through this transition and connected with the resources they need to succeed as we evaluate the program’s possibilities.” 

Per the Department of Labor, the Job Corps program has "faced significant financial challenges under its current operating structure. In PY 2024, the program operated at a $140 million deficit, requiring the Biden administration to implement a pause in center operations to complete the program year. The deficit is projected to reach $213 million in PY 2025."

Additionally, the first-ever Job Corps Transparency Report came out in April, and revealed troubling findings, such as: 

• Average Graduation Rate (WIOA Definition): 38.6%
• Average Cost Per Student Per Year: $80,284.65         
• Average Total Cost Per Graduate (WIOA Definition): $155,600.74
• Post separation, participants earn $16,695 annually on average.
• The total number of Serious Incident Reports for program year 2023: 14,913 infractions.
• Inappropriate Sexual Behavior and Sexual Assaults Reported: 372
• Acts of Violence Reported: 1,764
• Breaches of Safety or Security: 1,167
• Reported Drug Use: 2,702

Nonetheless, the brief argues that "the unlawful termination" of Job Corps "will impact tens of thousands of young Americans who are currently enrolled and housed at campuses in all fifty states.  Thousands of these program participants were unhoused or in foster care when they enrolled and have no alternative housing if they lose their residence through the program."

The brief was filed in National Job Corps Association et al. v. Department of Labor et al. in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on Friday and was signed by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Rhode Island, Oregon, Vermont, Washington.

The USAID Amicus Brief.

The second coalition, with 23 attorneys general including Tong, opposed the Trump Administration’s decision to withhold billions of dollars of funding for foreign aid programs to United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The coalition of attorneys general pushed back on the Administration’s assertion that it can withhold funds to USAID in an amicus brief filed in Global Health Council, et. al v. Trump. The coalition argued that the Administration’s "termination of foreign aid funding has substantially harmed the states by cutting off billions of dollars in funding for research grants and contracts that flowed through USAID and benefitted United States farmers, universities, nonprofits, and small businesses."

“The Trump Administration’s illegal and immoral decision to try to withhold billions of dollars in USAID funding and programs harms not only just the millions across the world who rely on our lifesaving support, but also harms jobs and organizations here at home,” said Attorney General Tong. “From university-backed research and projects for improving healthcare in poverty-stricken countries to nonprofits which provide lifesaving aid, it is vital to both our state’s economy and to our country’s standing in the world that these funds are restored.”

In January 2025, President Trump signed an executive order directing members of the Executive Branch to freeze federal funding for foreign aid programs at USAID and the State Department.

In February, the Trump Administration detailed examples of the waste and abuse at USAID, for example:

• Hundreds of millions of dollars to fund “irrigation canals, farming equipment, and even fertilizer used to support the unprecedented poppy cultivation and heroin production in Afghanistan,” benefiting the Taliban
• $1.5 million to “advance diversity equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities”
• $70,000 for production of a “DEI musical” in Ireland
• $2.5 million for electric vehicles for Vietnam
• $47,000 for a “transgender opera” in Colombia
• $32,000 for a “transgender comic book” in Peru
• $2 million for sex changes and “LGBT activism” in Guatemala
• $6 million to fund tourism in Egypt
• Hundreds of thousands of dollars for a non-profit linked to designated terrorist organizations — even AFTER an inspector general launched an investigation
• Millions to EcoHealth Alliance — which was involved in research at the Wuhan lab
• “Hundreds of thousands of meals that went to al Qaeda-affiliated fighters in Syria”
• Funding to print “personalized” contraceptives birth control devices in developing countries

Then a group of foreign aid nonprofits sued over the withholding of these funds and an activist judge granted their request for a preliminary injunction and ordered the Executive Branch agencies and officials to “make available for obligation the full amount of funds that Congress appropriated for foreign assistance programs.”

In their amicus brief, the 23 attorneys general urge the appellate court to uphold the preliminary injunction. In doing so, the attorneys general:

• Urge the court to reject the Administration’s contention that the Executive Branch can unilaterally choose to withhold funds Congress has appropriated.
• Argue that the freezing of foreign aid funds is actively harming Connecticut and the other states.

A copy of the USAID brief filed by the attorneys general of the District of Columbia, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. is available here.

It's worth mentioning that just last week, a USAID official plead guilty to a decade-long bribery scheme involving $550 million in contracts.

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