Thirty-five of the 41-member Senate Democratic conference in New York are condemning the Trump administration for what they see as violations of laws and norms.

In what could be the first of its kind in the nation, the senators issued a joint statement late last week criticizing the administration’s failure to follow due process; its chaotic dismantling of federal programs; its “wholesale attacks” on lawyers and judges; and the lack of due process offered to immigrants. 

The statement goes on to say, “We cannot stand by silently while our nation’s commitments to a system of laws, due process, justice and constitutional principles are torn asunder.”

Westchester state Sen. Shelley Mayer, chair of the Senate Committee on Education, was the original author of the statement. She told Capital Tonight that, at first, the language focused exclusively on condemning the treatment of lawyers and judges. But talks with her legislative colleagues convinced her to broaden the scope of the document.   

“I was, particularly as a lawyer, so offended by the attacks on lawyers and judges and bullying and threatening, together with the other things, that I originally drafted the letter for lawyers. But our non-lawyer colleagues wanted to be part of it,” Mayer told Capital Tonight.  “So, we re-did it to be a more general condemnation.”

As of today, at least four large U.S. law firms have made concessions to the Trump administration after receiving executive orders against them. All the firms have or had ties to attorneys who investigated the president, or had been involved in challenging his policies. 

Manhattan state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a former associate of Paul Weiss, a firm that investigated Trump during his first term, and which capitulated to the president’s threats. 

“It’s a core principle of our justice system that you shouldn’t be penalized for defending or prosecuting a lawsuit,” he told Capital Tonight. 

Law firms have started fighting back. 

According to Newsweek, more than 500 firms and legal offices filed a court brief on Friday warning that the actions represent "a grave threat to our system of constitutional governance and to the rule of law itself." 

When asked why they issued the statement while the state budget still hasn’t passed, the lawmakers stated they can “do two things at once.”

“Yeah, we have a budget to work on, but we also have to stand up to outrageous violations,” Hoylman-Sigal said. “I’m firmly in the camp that we should fight fire with fire.”