State attorneys general banding together to take on an administration of the opposite party is not a new phenomenon. But former AGs, academics and lawyers say partisanship appears to be on the rise among the states' chief lawyers.

Paul Nolette, a professor at Marquette University who studies attorneys general, said the increase began under former President George W. Bush, but became more intense during President Barack Obama's eight years in office.

“Partisanship is more pronounced than it had been in the past,” Nolette said. “With the Obama administration, you saw, really for the first time, Republican attorneys general get much more organized. Now you have Democratic attorneys general that are even more organized than they were during the Bush administration.”

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