Washington Democrats have found a new hobby—and surprise, it’s not fixing anything inside Washington.

According to newly released records, the Washington State Attorney General’s Office has burned through 34,000 hours—that’s nearly four years of full-time work—suing the Trump administration since late 2024. For context, that’s the equivalent of 100 full-time lawyers grinding away… even though only about 30 attorneys are supposedly assigned to the cases.

Because nothing says “efficient government” like a math problem that doesn’t add up.

Even more impressive? Two-thirds of those hours were racked up in just six months, including a massive 23,000-hour blitz mid-2025. That’s not a legal strategy—that’s a political obsession with a timecard.

And what’s all that effort gotten taxpayers so far?

• 19 cases won
• 30 cases lost
• Hundreds still stuck in court

In other words: a whole lot of billable hours… and not a whole lot to show for it.

Meanwhile, the lawsuits themselves read like a greatest hits album of progressive priorities—gender procedures for minors, federal funding fights, and bureaucratic turf wars—while actual state issues somehow keep getting pushed to the back burner.

The Attorney General’s office insists it’s all justified, of course. They say it’s about “protecting Washingtonians.” But when your office has a $579 million budget and is spending thousands of hours chasing federal headlines, people might reasonably ask: protecting them from what, exactly—results?

At some point, this stops looking like legal necessity and starts looking like political theater with a taxpayer-funded stage.

Because if this is what “governing” looks like, it’s no wonder nothing else is getting done. Read more at Center Square.

Washington Democrats are still pretending their shiny new income tax is only aimed at “the rich.” Small businesses? Just collateral damage.

Now the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)—aka, the people who actually represent small businesses—has officially joined the lawsuit to stop it. And they’re spelling out what Olympia conveniently ignored: most small businesses don’t have piles of cash sitting around… they reinvest their earnings just to stay afloat.

But here’s the part Democrats either don’t understand—or don’t care about:

About 85% of small businesses are “pass-through” entities, meaning their business income shows up on personal tax returns. So when the state taxes “high-income individuals,” they’re often hitting business revenue, not some billionaire’s yacht fund.

In other words, that “millionaire tax”?
Yeah… it’s also a small business tax in disguise.

Even business owners who aren’t hitting the $1 million threshold are nervous—and for good reason. Because once Olympia cracks the door open to an income tax, history suggests they don’t exactly stop there.

As one NFIB leader bluntly put it: this looks a lot like “the nose under the camel’s tent.”

Translation: today it’s “millionaires.” Tomorrow? Everyone else.

Meanwhile, the legal fight is heating up:

• A broad coalition—including former AG Rob McKenna and former Justice Phil Talmadge—is challenging the law in court
• A grassroots push is racing to gather 200,000+ signatures just to give voters a say
• And the Washington Supreme Court is about to decide whether voters even get that chance—after Democrats conveniently slapped a “no referendum allowed” clause into the bill

Because apparently nothing says “democracy” like passing a controversial tax… and then trying to block voters from repealing it.

NFIB says the constitution is clear. The courts have said it before. And they’re confident they’ll win.

But if they don’t?

Even the people fighting this law are warning: it’s only a matter of time before Democrats come back for a broader income tax.

Funny how that “this will never affect you” promise keeps sounding less believable by the day. Read more at Center Square.

Washington Democrats are at it again—this time taking aim at one of the few industries actually driving real economic growth: data centers and AI infrastructure.

Gov. Bob Ferguson just signed a bill scaling back tax incentives that helped companies upgrade equipment in existing data centers. Not eliminate them entirely—just enough to make doing business in Washington more expensive and more complicated. Because apparently, when an industry is thriving, the natural instinct in Olympia is to start tinkering until it isn’t.

For years, these incentives helped offset the enormous costs of maintaining and upgrading data centers—the backbone of AI, cloud computing, and the digital economy. But now Washington is stepping back, right as demand for that infrastructure is exploding. Meanwhile, dozens of other states are doing the exact opposite, offering aggressive incentives to attract these investments. Washington’s move doesn’t happen in a vacuum—it happens in a competitive landscape where companies have plenty of other options.

The policy itself manages to be both confusing and counterproductive. New facilities can still benefit from incentives, but existing ones looking to upgrade will now face higher costs. So the message to companies is simple: come here, but don’t grow here. Invest here, but don’t improve here. It’s the kind of split logic that only makes sense if you’re more focused on political messaging than economic reality.

Even major employers like Microsoft raised concerns, warning lawmakers the policy could be “uniquely anti-competitive.” When one of the state’s biggest tech players is telling you your plan might backfire, that’s usually a sign to pause. Instead, Democrats pushed forward anyway, confident as ever that government knows best.

This is becoming a familiar pattern. Take a successful industry, chip away at the incentives that made it viable, and then act surprised when investment starts looking elsewhere. Washington built a reputation as a tech hub by being competitive. Now it’s testing how quickly that advantage can be undone.

Because in Olympia, the strategy seems less about growing the economy—and more about seeing how much pressure it can take before it starts to crack. Read more at Tech Radar.

Seattle leaders have spent years patting themselves on the back for their “compassionate” approach to homelessness. The problem is, the results don’t look like compassion—they look like a magnet.

As surrounding cities finally start enforcing laws on drug use, illegal camping, and repeat theft, the outcome has been completely predictable. People aren’t disappearing—they’re relocating. And more often than not, they’re heading straight to Seattle, where enforcement is optional and accountability is basically nonexistent.

Outreach workers like Andrea Suarez are seeing it firsthand. People aren’t even pretending otherwise. They’re openly saying they left places like Everett and Snohomish County because those areas aren’t “drug-friendly” anymore. Translation: those cities started enforcing rules, so Seattle became the obvious alternative.

This isn’t complicated. When one city refuses to enforce basic standards while every neighboring jurisdiction tightens up, you don’t get a regional solution—you get a regional dumping ground.

And that’s exactly what’s happening.

Everett cracked down and saw measurable improvements. Bellevue got serious about repeat theft. Federal Way ramped up drug enforcement and saw crime drop. Even places like San Francisco—long considered the poster child for permissive policies—have started tying benefits to treatment and accountability.

Meanwhile, Seattle? Still doing nothing. Still clinging to the same failed approach, even after the Grants Pass v. Johnsondecision removed the legal excuse for inaction.

At this point, it’s not about what Seattle can’t do. It’s about what it won’t do.

And the consequences are stacking up fast. Every crackdown in a neighboring city effectively funnels more people into Seattle. Every refusal to enforce basic laws reinforces the message: if you want zero accountability, this is the place to be.

All of this is happening with the clock ticking toward the 2026 World Cup, when the city will be on full international display. And yet, there’s still no serious plan to deal with the encampments that have become a defining feature of the city.

Because in Seattle, “compassion” has been redefined to mean tolerating the problem indefinitely—and expecting everyone else to deal with the consequences. Read more at Seattle Red.

Please consider making a contribution to ensure Shift continues to provide daily updates on the shenanigans of the liberal establishment. If you’d rather mail a check, you can send it to: Shift WA | PO Box 956 | Cle Elum, WA 98922

Forward this to a friend.  It helps us grow our community and serve you better.

You can also follow SHIFTWA on social media by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter.

If you feel we missed something that should be covered, email us at [email protected].