So far, Jeff Sessions has spent much of his time as attorney general working to undercut federal protections for the L.G.B.T.Q. community, minority Americans, and, of course, immigrants. Now, a new group is lobbying Sessions to become a protected class: Trump supporters. Bloomberg reports the amazing news that construction companies slated to help build Donald Trump‘s big, beautiful border wall are trying to forestall any political backlash by “pushing for federal protections, including stopping cities and states from penalizing them.”

The Associated General Contractors of America has asked Sessions to sue to prevent cities and states from denying companies contracts, or divesting them if they participate in building the wall, the express purpose of which is to keep Mexicans out of the country. In addition, the group is demanding “assurances that local authorities will provide reasonable protection for workers and equipment on job sites, as well as contractor reimbursement for security costs or damage from vandalism.” As Jordan Howard, director of the Federal and Heavy Construction Division for the A.G.C.A. put it, “This is not an attractive business decision, considering a lot of the opposition and the little support you’re getting from the federal government.”

One city in Arizona and three in California have already passed resolutions not to do business with firms that are involved in constructing the wall, and similar measures have been proposed in eight other states and 10 municipalities, including New York City. “Companies have a choice: help build the wall, a monument to racism and bigotry, or do business in New York City,” Public Advocate Letitia James said in March. “We won’t allow you to do both.”

In a letter to Sessions in August, the A.G.C.A. wrote that it was “imperative” for the Justice Department to sue on contractors’ behalves. “Failure by the government to take action against such measures will embolden states and municipalities to discriminate against private companies that perform all sorts of controversial work for government, not just border-wall work,” the group’s lawyer, Michael Kennedy, wrote. And while it’s “impossible to predict” what action the Justice Department might or might not take, Steven Schooner, a professor of government procurement law at George Washington University, could see Sessions going to bat “at the request of President Trump, to protect—or for that matter, raise the profile of—one of the president’s favorite initiatives.”