This is the 99% of visible breakdown of the Constitution.

I'm Roman Mars.

And I'm Elizabeth Joe.

Today we are discussing Article 4, 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 10th 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 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 4 and the 10th Amendment.

Okay, so unlike Articles 1, 2, and 3, which we've already talked about, they set up the federal government and get a lot of attention.

Article 4 does not get too much love.

Most people have no idea what it's about.

It's not thought of too often.

But it is an important source of powers and protections for the states.

So when we talk about the relationship between the federal government and that of the states,

...