Attorney General Kris Mayes on SCOTUS hearing & SNAP lawsuit

Arizona Attorney General (D), Kris Mayes, joined “Arizona Horizon” to talk discuss the SCOTUS hearing on tariffs, her lawsuit against the federal government over halting SNAP benefits and her suing on behalf Adelita Grijalva.

Mayes attended a SCOTUS hearing considering the legality of President Donald’s Trump’s global tariffs, and what authority he has to impose sweeping duties. She filed a lawsuit over the halting of SNAP benefits, and against the U.S. House of Representatives to ensure Grijalva’s swearing in as a member of Congress.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss three major legal battles her office is pursuing: challenging the legality of former President Donald Trump’s global tariffs, fighting the federal halt of SNAP benefits during the government shutdown, and suing to ensure Adelita Grijalva is sworn in as a member of Congress.

Mayes attended this week’s U.S. Supreme Court hearing on the multistate lawsuit she co-led with Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, arguing that Trump exceeded his authority in imposing sweeping tariffs.

“We’re the lead states,” Mayes said. “We won in the Court of International Trade and then we won in the Federal Circuit… we carried the ball through the first two phases.”

She noted the Justices appeared sharply focused on constitutional questions.

“They were hyperfocused on the law—on separation of powers and the textual reading of the statute Trump used,” she said, adding that several justices showed “deep skepticism of what Donald Trump has done with tariffs.”

If overturned, she said, it would be “one of the biggest decisions in the history of the United States Supreme Court.”

Mayes also addressed her lawsuit challenging the administration’s move to halt SNAP benefits during the shutdown.

“The President violated the law again by not using the $5 billion in contingency funds,” she said. “They were going to let Americans and Arizonans go hungry right before Thanksgiving.”

A federal judge has since ordered at least partial, now possibly full, benefits to be paid. “We’re working with DES to get those cards reloaded as soon as the money hits,” she said.

On the issue of Adelita Grijalva’s delayed swearing-in, Mayes confirmed her office is escalating its response.

“It’s unacceptable that 813,000 Arizonans are being taxed without representation,” she said. “We’re looking at all of our options… watch this space next week.”

She emphasized the state’s legal standing: “I’m down one member of Congress—we’re supposed to have nine and we have eight.”

Mayes warned the continuing shutdown, paired with rising tariffs and reduced health insurance subsidies, amounts to a “triple whammy” for Arizonans.

“We need Republicans to negotiate,” she said. “This is a calamity in the making.”