With the new president in his legal crosshairs, state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is also busy raising his national profile. NY1's Courtney Gross looks at how Schneiderman is rapidly becoming Donald Trump's biggest New York nemesis.
State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has added a new responsibility to his job description: taking on the president.
"It is up to us at the state level to show leadership," Schneiderman said.
Since Donald Trump took the oath of office, the state attorney general has been corralling Democratic attorneys general across the country to fight the president's most controversial policies or strike at his rhetoric.
His latest endeavor is voting.
"There is this picture being portrayed out there that it is easy to commit voter fraud and there are lots of people doing it. That is a false narrative, and we have to push back against that," Schneiderman said.
With fanfare, he introduced the New York Votes Act on Wednesday, a bill that includes automatic registration for eligible voters, same-day registration at the polls and early voting.
We are told its part of his new tactic in a new federal administration. One - push "progressive policies" as models for other states. Two - step up enforcement of laws on the books. Three - sue.
"This is not just an assault on our laws about immigration. This is fundamentally a challenge to the rule of law," Schneiderman said.
Schneiderman has already joined a lawsuit in Brooklyn federal court to stop the president's so-called travel ban.
He, along with other attorneys general, filed a brief in Washington in a similar case.
And on Wednesday, he filed another one supporting a lawsuit against Trump in Virginia.
"Every president must live within the guidelines set down by the founding fathers," Schneiderman said.
Back at home, Schneiderman's voting proposals could have a tough time in the state Senate. Senate Republicans have blocked these types of proposals before.
Nonetheless, officials say they are hopeful.
"People are now aware and awake in ways that they have never been before, because they realize every day that elections mean something," said Andrea Stewart-Cousins, leader of the state Senate's Democratic conference.