Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison says, after midterm win, he'll keep battling Trump administration

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has filed more than 70 lawsuits against President Donald Trump's policies, and says he'll continue to battle the administration. 

"This is a tidal wave moment. This is a game change moment," Ellison told WCCO's Esme Murphy.

Ellison is savoring the Democratic sweep and his own victory during the midterms. While some polls showed he had a good chance of losing, Ellison ended up with a comfortable nine point win. He believes it's a mandate to continue fighting the Trump administration.

Ellison said he's filed 76 lawsuits so far against the administration. 

"We just sued him the other day over the coercive style of trying to get rid of, change our Medicaid Medicare program," he said.

His lawsuits range from Medicaid and Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program cuts to immigration enforcement and the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. He forsees even more lawsuits because of what he calls the hardline views of Mr. Trump's new chief of staff, Stephen Miller, who was the architect of Operation Metro Surge.

"He doesn't have any problem stepping on anybody's rights. And so I think, quite honestly, we are in for a very, very difficult period," Ellison said.

Ellison says no lawsuit is more important than the continued legal struggle to get the federal government to share evidence in the Good and Pretti cases. 

"The reason you're seeking that evidence is to see if you can build a criminal case against these agents?" Murphy asked Ellison.

"I can tell you that we're never going to quit, right?" Ellison said. "We're always going to pursue this information. We're going to get it. There's no statute of limitations on murder and homicides and so, you know, whether it's today or next week or later than that, we're going keep pursuing it and I can tell you the incoming County Attorney Cedric Frazier is absolutely committed.