Explainer Episode 81 - State AG Litigation Against Federal Agencies: A Kansas Perspective
State Attorneys General have been active in recent years in filing lawsuits against federal agencies. From cases like West Virginia v. EPA to Biden v. Nebraska, state AG lawsuits have prevented significant overreach by federal agencies. In the past year, the Office of the Kansas Attorney General has been one of the most active in this space. Abhishek Kambli and Erin Gaide from the Kansas AG's office discuss the litigation that their office has done this past year. They have filed lawsuits in cases such as Kansas v. Biden (later retitled Alaska v. Department of Education) that challenged the $475 billion student loan forgiveness plan called "SAVE" and Kansas v. Department of Education that challenged the new Title IX regulation that expanded the definition of sex to include gender identity. Abhishek Kambli and Erin Gaide discuss these and other cases in depth to provide a window into this unique type of litigation.
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As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.
Partner, Holtzman Vogel Baran Torchinsky & Josefiak PLLC
Abhishek (Abhi) Kambli is a partner at Holtzman Vogel who represents clients in high-stakes appellate and complex litigation, constitutional challenges, and matters involving state attorneys general and federal agencies. He is one of a handful of lawyers nationally who has both led federal litigation from inside the Department of Justice and multi-state coalition work from a State Attorney General’s office—giving clients a 360-degree perspective on government enforcement, regulatory challenges, and constitutional advocacy.
Prior to joining Holtzman Vogel, Abhi served as Deputy Associate Attorney General at the United States Department of Justice, where he acted as lead counsel in high-priority matters for the Trump Administration, oversaw the Department’s civil components on behalf of the Associate Attorney General, advised the White House Counsel’s Office and federal agencies on litigation risk and strategy, and developed the Department’s national affirmative civil litigation strategy.
Earlier, he served as Deputy Attorney General and Division Chief of the Special Litigation and Constitutional Issues Division at the Kansas Attorney General’s Office, where he launched the division and led multi-state coalitions in trial and appellate courts nationwide, including the United States Supreme Court. He began his career as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of Indiana, prosecuting more than 100 federal cases from investigation through appeal.
Abhi is also a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force Judge Advocate General's Corps, having served on active duty and in the reserves since 2013. His military service includes criminal trials as both prosecutor and defense attorney, appellate representation before the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, and representation of a high-profile detainee before the Military Commissions at Guantánamo Bay.
Erin Gaide is an Assistant Attorney General in the Kansas Office of the Attorney General, where she is a member of the Special Litigation & Constitutional Issues Division. Before beginning with the Kansas Attorney General, Erin clerked for the Honorable Allison H. Eid of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
Erin earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from the College of Law William & Mary, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif. She earned her B.A., cum laude, in International Studies from the Ohio State University.