Updated 4/23/25 at 8:38am ET
President Donald Trump is clashing with federal judges, courts, and other groups across the United States. This page is tracking the latest developments in those legal battles.
For more information about the specific court filings, visit Lawfare.com's tracker.
Did we miss something? Email us.
THE LATEST
- Voice of America employees were reinstated after they sued the Trump admin.
- Harvard sued the Trump admin over its funding freeze.
- A judge blocked the administration from deporting noncitizens to third countries without due process.
VOA Employees Sue US Agency for Global Media
The Latest:
- A judge ordered the Trump administration to restore all Voice of America jobs.
- VOA employees and contractors sued the US Agency for Global Media over the Trump admin's executive order to dismantle VOA.
Executive Argument: Trump's executive order aimed at cutting costs, said the USAGM should be eliminated to the furthest extent of the law. Kari Lake, who leads VOA, called USAGM th emost curropt agency in Washington DC.
Judiciary Argument: The complaint called Trump's action "discriminatory animus," saying that the order infringed on VOA's editorial independence violating the laws of USAGM and the First Amendment. The judge said the administration acted "without regard to the harm inflicted on employees, contractors, journalists, and media consumers around the world."
Harvard Sues Trump Admin
The Latest:
- Harvard University sued the Trump administration on April 21 over its $2.2 billion funding freeze.
Executive Argument: The federal government asked Harvard to comply with audits of hiring practices and admissions to root out antisemitism and ensure Harvard is following civil rights laws.
Judiciary Argument: Harvard argues the requests are unconstitutional and would violate its independence and academic freedom.
Freezing State Funds Over Trans Athletes
The Latest:
- On April 16, the Trump administration sued Maine for not complying with its order to ban transgender athletes.
- On April 7, Maine sued the US Department of Agriculture over its funding freeze. The state is seeking a temporary restraining order while the case is heard.
Executive Argument: Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins sent a letter on April 2 alleging that Maine violated Title IX by allowing transgender athletes to compete in women's sports.
Judiciary Argument: The attorney general of Maine, Aaron Frey, filed a lawsuit alleging that Title IX requires that transgender women be allowed to participate in women's sports. The federal funding freeze is blocking money used to keep children fed and support after-school programs, he said.
Firing and Rehiring Federal Workers
The Latest:
- "Jocelyn Samuels, a Commissioner of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, sued the Trump administration over President Trump's attempt to remove her as a commissioner, allegedly in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964," Lawfare said.
- On April 9, a federal appeals court paused a lower court ruling that ordered the Trump administration to rehire 24,000 workers.
- The Supreme Court ruled Trump can move forward with firing 16,000 federal workers, recinding a lower court order that they be reinstated.
- Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to reinstate fired workers and barred the administration from laying off more CFPB employees while a lawsuit brought by the National Treasury Employees Union continues.
- The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to end the block on firing federal workers.
- A federal judge in California ruled that unions representing federal employees can sue over the administration's mass firings.
- The administration recently reinstated roughly 25,000 federal workers following multiple court orders to do so, and may reinstate more employees. However, some are immediately being placed on administrative leave.
Executive Argument: "Agencies are taking independent action in light of the recent hiring freeze and in support of the President’s broader efforts to restructure and streamline the federal government to better serve the American people at the highest possible standard," said a spokesperson from the Office of Personnel Management.
Judiciary Argument: “In this case, the government conducted massive layoffs, but it gave no advance notice. It claims it wasn’t required to because, it says, it dismissed each one of these thousands of probationary employees for 'performance' or other individualized reasons," U.S. District Judge James Bredar in Maryland wrote in his ruling.
Deportations
The Latest:
- A judge blocked the administration from deporting noncitizens to third countries without due process.
- Judge James Boasberg said there was probable cause to hold the Trump administration in contempt of court after it "willfully disregarded a court order when it failed to return planes full of migrants on their way to a prison in El Salvador."
- A judge blocked Trump from revoking the legal status of 530,000+ migrants who flew into US via Biden-era CHNV program.
- The Trump administration argued it has no obligation to arrange the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from El Salvador.
- A judge ruled that Mahmoud Khalil can be deported.
- The US Supreme Court on April 10 ordered the Trump administration to expedite the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man mistakenly deported to El Salvador.
- "A federal judge in Texas issued an order Wednesday temporarily blocking the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport people held in a south Texas immigration detention center without due process," according to NBC News (Lean Left).
- On April 7, the Supreme Court temperarily approved Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act for deportations.
- On March 31, a judge paused the Trump administration's plan to end temporary protected status for 350,000 Venezuelans.
- In a hearing on March 24, a judge lamented how alleged gang members deported to El Salvador were not given notice, were not informed of their destination, and had no opportunity to challenge the removal under the Alien Enemies Act.
- At least one of the deported Venezuelan men was in the US legally.
- Judge James E. Boasberg called the Trump administration's response to his request for more detail on the deportations "woefully insufficient."
Executive Argument: In Trump's inaugural address, he stated he would use the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to "eliminate the presence of all foreign gangs and criminal networks bringing devastating crime to US soil."
Judiciary Argument: Boasberg's ruling sought to block the deportations until a full hearing was held.
Judge Restores AP's WH Access
The Latest:
- Judge Trevor McFadden ordered the White House to reinstate the Associated Press' full access effective April 13.
Executive Argument: On Feb. 11, the Trump administration revoked AP's Oval Office access over its refusal to change its stylebook standard to "Gulf of America" over "Gulf of Mexico." The White House argued it was allowed to determine who had special access to the president and who did not.
Judiciary Argument: McFadden said, “Under the First Amendment, if the Government opens its doors to some journalists – be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere – it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints.”
Challenge to Trump Tariffs
The Latest:
- A law firm focused on challenging federal overreach sued to prevent President Donald Trump’s recent new tariffs on Chinese goods.
Executive Argument: Per the White House: "President Trump is invoking his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA) to address the national emergency posed by the large and persistent trade deficit that is driven by the absence of reciprocity in our trade relationships and other harmful policies like currency manipulation and exorbitant value-added taxes (VAT) perpetuated by other countries."
Opposing Argument: “The President purported to order these tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (‘IEEPA’), but that is a statute that authorizes presidents to order sanctions as a rapid response to international emergencies,” a lawsuit from the New Civil Liberties Alliance says. “It does not allow a president to impose tariffs on the American people. President Trump’s Executive Orders imposing a China tariff are, therefore, ultra vires and unconstitutional. This Court should enjoin their implementation and enforcement.”
Disability Advocates Sue DOGE and SSA
The Latest:
- A group of advocates filed a lawsuit against DOGE and the Social Security Administration, arguing that the closure of offices, staff cuts, and requirements for in-person services have made it harder for the elderly and disabled to access their benefits.
Executive Argument: White House spokesperson Liz Huston said "President Trump has made it clear he is committed to making the federal government more efficient. He has the authority to manage agency restructuring and workforce reductions, and the administration’s actions are fully compliant with the law."
Judiciary Argument: "The defendants’ actions are an unprecedented and unconstitutional assault on Social Security benefits, concealed beneath the hollow pretense of bureaucratic ‘reform’...The result is a systematic dismantling of SSA’s core functions, leaving millions of beneficiaries without the essential benefits they are legally entitled to," said the complaint.
States Sue Trump Over HHS Cuts
The Latest:
- D.C. and 23 states have sued the Trump administration for $11.4 billion in cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services
Executive Argument: The CDC is arguing that the money was allocated for COVID-19 related expenses. Andrew Nixon, HHS Director of Communications, said, “The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago.”
Judiciary Argument: The states argue that the funds are used for public health, mental health, and addiction services. Letitia James, New York Attorney General, said, “Slashing this funding now will reverse our progress on the opioid crisis, throw our mental health systems into chaos, and leave hospitals struggling to care for patients.”
Deleting Houthi Signal Messages
The Latest:
- Judge James E. Boasberg ordered Trump administration officials who participated in the "Houthi PC Small Group" Signal chat to preserve them as federal records.
- The move comes after one of the screenshots published by Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg showed National Security Advisor Mike Waltz setting the messages to be automatically deleted four weeks from Saturday, March 15.
Executive Argument: As of 10 a.m. EST on March 28th, The Trump administration has not officially responded to the order.
Judiciary Argument: Judge Boasberg's order was prompted by federal watchdog American Oversight on the grounds that deleting the messages would violate the Federal Records Act of 1950.
Shutting Down USAID
The Latest: A Maryland district judge blocked DOGE from continuing its efforts to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), saying it violated the Constitution.
Executive Argument: Per BBC (Center bias): The White House has published a list of USAID projects which it said were evidence of "waste and abuse", including a grant of $1.5m to an LGBTQ group in Serbia, $2.5m for electric vehicles in Vietnam and $6m for tourism in Egypt.
Judiciary Argument: U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang wrote that the Trump admin “likely violated the United States Constitution in multiple ways” and “deprived the public's elected representatives in Congress of their constitutional authority to decide whether, when, and how to close down" the agency.
Removing Transgender Service Members
The Latest: Multiple judges blocked Trump’s ban on transgender service members. The administration can still appeal.
Executive Argument: “A man’s assertion that he is a woman, and his requirement that others honor this falsehood, is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member,” the executive order states.
Judiciary Argument: “The court knows that this opinion will lead to heated public debate and appeals. In a healthy democracy, both are positive outcomes,” wrote U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, D.C. “We should all agree, however, that every person who has answered the call to serve deserves our gratitude and respect.”
Accessing Social Security Data
The Latest: On March 20, U.S. District Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander issued a 137-page ruling blocking DOGE's access to Social Security information. The Trump administration has yet to comment. As recently as March 24, DOGE claimed to have been accessing Social Security data. It's unclear to what extent Hollander's ruling is being followed.
Executive Argument: The Trump administration's self-justification for accessing Social Security information revolves around improper payments and purported data mismanagement.
Judiciary Argument: "The DOGE Team is essentially engaged in a fishing expedition at SSA, in search of a fraud epidemic, based on little more than suspicion. It has launched a search for the proverbial needle in the haystack, without any concrete knowledge that the needle is actually in the haystack," Hollander wrote.
Ending Birthright Citizenship
The Latest: On Jan. 23, U.S. District Judge John Coughenour temporarily blocked Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship. The Trump administration appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court. Read about other court challenges to the order.
Executive Argument: “As part of my plan to secure the border on Day 1 of my new term in office, I will sign an executive order making clear to federal agencies that under the correct interpretation of the law, going forward the future children of illegal aliens will not receive automatic U.S. citizenship,” Trump said in 2023.
Judiciary Argument: "This is a blatantly unconstitutional order,” Coughenour wrote. “I have difficulty understanding how a member of the bar can state unequivocally that this is a constitutional order. It boggles my mind.”