page_title: Ken Cuccinelli
section_title: Attorney General of Virginia (2010–2014)
hierarchical_section_title: Ken Cuccinelli / Attorney General of Virginia (2010–2014)
caption_attribution_description: English: Ken Cuccinelli speaking at US Department of Justice announcement of resolution with Abbott Laboratories for its off-label promotion of the drug, Depakote
context_page_description: Kenneth Thomas Cuccinelli II is an American politician and lawyer serving as Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he is also the Principal Deputy and Acting Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and was Attorney General of Virginia from 2010 to 2014.
  He previously served in the Virginia Senate, representing the 37th district in Fairfax County from 2002 until 2010, and as the 46th attorney general of Virginia from 2010 until 2014. Cuccinelli was the Republican nominee for Governor of Virginia in the 2013 Virginia gubernatorial election, losing to the Democratic nominee, Terry McAuliffe.
  A self-described opponent of homosexuality, Cuccinelli in his position as Virginia Attorney General defended anti-sodomy laws and prohibitions on same-sex marriage. Cuccinelli rejects the scientific consensus on climate change, and in his position as Attorney General investigated climate scientists whom he accused of fraud.
context_section_description: In 2009, Cuccinelli was selected as the Republican nominee for attorney general, going on to win 58% of the vote (1,123,816 votes). Republican Bob McDonnell became governor, and Bill Bolling was re-elected as lieutenant governor. Cuccinelli was inaugurated on January 16, 2010. 
  In 2010, Cuccinelli was the first attorney general to file a  federal lawsuit (Virginia v. Sebelius) challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). During his 2013 run for governor, Cuccinelli opposed the ACA's Medicaid expansion. 
  In July 2010, Cuccinelli joined eight other states in filing an amicus brief opposing the federal government's lawsuit challenging an Arizona immigration enforcement statute. In August 2010, Cuccinelli authorized law enforcement officials to investigate the immigration status of anyone that they have stopped.
  Cuccinelli rejects the scientific consensus on climate change. In 2010, Cuccinelli sought judicial review of the Environmental Protection Agency's finding that greenhouse gasses endanger public health. In 2012, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected Cuccinelli's arguments. In 2010, Cuccinelli announced he would challenge the March 2010 standards for motor vehicle fuel efficiency specified in the Clean Air Act. In April 2010, as part of the Attorney General of Virginia's climate science investigation, Cuccinelli served a civil investigative demand on the University of Virginia seeking a broad range of documents related to climate researcher Michael E. Mann.  On August 30, 2010, Judge Paul M. Peatross Jr. ruled that "the nature of the conduct is not stated so that any reasonable person could glean what Dr. Mann did to violate the statute." Cuccinelli appealed the case to the Virginia Supreme Court, which ruled that Cuccinelli did not have the authority to make these demands. The outcome was hailed as a victory for academic freedom.
  Cuccinelli opposes homosexuality, describing homosexual acts as "against nature" and "harmful to society." Cuccinelli opposes same-sex marriage. He has argued against the constitutionality of same-sex marriages. In 2010, Cuccinelli called on Virginia universities to remove "'sexual orientation,' 'gender identity,' 'gender expression,' or like classification, as a protected class within its nondiscrimination policy, absent specific authorization from the General Assembly."
  Cuccinelli led several efforts combating usury, human trafficking, sodomy, and cyberbullying, although these efforts have not always been found legal.  Since 2007, his office negotiated settlements of almost $8 million representing refunds from eight auto-title lenders, filed a lawsuit against CNC Financial Services, Inc. for charging interest rates of 300 percent or more, and filed two separate against two Virginia Beach-based mortgage modification companies for charging customers up to $1,200 in illegal advance fees. Cuccinelli has been a staunch advocate against human trafficking during his time in office, and the advocacy group Polaris Project named Virginia one of the most improved states in cracking down on human trafficking in 2010 under Cuccinelli's leadership. He made human trafficking legislation his priority in his efforts during the 2013 General Assembly session, teaming up with Democratic and Republican lawmakers in support of three anti-human trafficking bills, all of which were passed and signed into law. He defended the constitutionality of Virginia laws prohibiting sodomy. In March 2013, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals struck down Virginia's anti-sodomy law, finding it unconstitutional based on the Supreme Court's 2003 ruling in Lawrence v. Texas". On June 25, 2013, Cuccinelli filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court, but in October 2013 the Supreme Court denied Cuccinelli's appeal. On November 24, 2010, Cuccinelli issued a legal opinion that police, school administrators, and teachers could search students' cell phones on the basis of reasonable suspicions in order to deter cyberbullying and "sexting". The
caption: Cuccinelli (right) speaking at US Department of Justice announcement of resolution with Abbott Laboratories for its off-label promotion of the drug Depakote
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