Constitution Breakdown #7: California AG Rob Bonta
2/27/20261 hr 18 min
This is the seventh episode of our ongoing series breaking down the U.S. Constitution.
This month, Roman and Elizabeth discuss Article IV, which outlines the relationship between states and between states and the federal government. They add the 10th Amendment to the conversation, because that also talks about the states.
Then, California Attorney General Rob Bonta joins to talk about how his office is using Article IV and the 10th Amendment to protect the state from federal overreach.
The 99% Invisible Breakdown of the Constitution
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsRoman Mars· Host0:00
[gentle music] This is the 99% Invisible breakdown of the Constitution. I'm Roman Mars.
Elizabeth Joe· Host0:06
And I'm Elizabeth Joe.
Roman Mars· Host0:08
Today we are discussing Article Four, which talks about the relationship between the states and between the states and the federal government. We're also skipping ahead a bit and adding the Tenth Amendment to this conversation because that also talks about the states. Our guest for this episode is California Attorney General Rob Bonta. State attorneys general provide legal counsel to their state's government, oversee state prosecutions, and represent the public interest in a variety of cases. They also have the responsibility of protecting their state's citizens from federal overreach. What constitutes an overreach can vary widely depending on the state's political leaning and who's in control of the federal government. During the Obama and Biden administrations, red states sued the federal government over issues like Medicaid expansion and environmental regulations. Now, blue states like California have sued the Trump administration dozens of times for things like withholding federal funding and deploying the National Guard without consent of the state. Attorney General Bonta talks about some of these lawsuits and why he believes the Constitution is on his side. But first, Elizabeth takes us through what we need to know about Article Four and the Tenth Amendment.
Elizabeth Joe· Host1:18
Okay, so unlike Articles One, two, and three, which we've already talked about- Mm-hmm ... they set up the federal government and get a lot of attention. Article Four does not get too much love. [laughs] [laughs] Most people have no idea what it's about.