Legal Actions

Former Equal Employment Opportunity Commissioner Jocelyn Samuels has sued the Trump administration for removing her from her position before her term is scheduled to end in July 2026. The plaintiff argues that the administration had neither the authority nor cause to remove her before the statutorily-established expiration of her term, and therefore her removal violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The County of Erie in New York sued the Trump administration for its decision to terminate a Retired and Senior Volunteer Program grant, which funded hundreds of senior volunteers in positions across the community, including at food pantries, hospitals, schools, and senior centers. Americorps approved the three-year grant in January 2024. However, in compliance with Executive Orders 14151 and 14173, the Trump administration threatened Erie County with terminating its grant unless the County certified that it did not operate any programs promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion. On April 14, 2025, plaintiffs filed a Notice of Voluntarily Dismissal after Americorps withdrew its certification requirement.

Native American tribes and students have sued the U.S. Department of Interior and Office of Indian Affairs in response to Executive Order 14210, which initiated large-scale staff reductions at the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) and BIE-run schools, Haskell Indian Nations University and Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute. BIE conducted these staff reductions without notification to and consultation with the Tribal Nations as required by the law. Plaintiffs argue that BIE's deferred resignation program and its termination of probationary employees was contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious. Plaintiffs also allege that BIE failed its duty to consult with the tribes before implementing such employment actions. On July 8, 2025, the parties agreed to stay the case until the BIA completes its review of oral and written comments and takes any actions related to the consultation regarding EO 14210.

The Northeast Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY), Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and the Environmental Working Group have sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the removal of government websites containing information about climate change and the environment. The plaintiffs represent farmers and environmental researchers who rely upon the information made public on USDA's websites. On January 30, 2025, USDA Director of Digital Communications Peter Rhee directed his staff to archive or unpublish any landing pages focused on climate change. The USDA subsequently removed numerous webpages containing vital public resources and information about climate-smart agriculture, forest conservation, climate change adaptation, investment in clean energy projects in rural America, and more. The plaintiffs argued that the removal of these websites violates the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the Freedom of Information Act. The plaintiffs requested that the court order the USDA to restore all webpages removed as a result of Director Rhee's directive. On May 12, 2025, the government agreed to restore the data to USDA websites.

CASA, Inc. and Make the Road New York have filed a lawsuit against Secretary Kristi Noem and the Department of Homeland Security challenging Secretary Noem's decision to revoke the 18-month extension of Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelan migrants granted by the Biden administration in January 2025. Former President Biden had granted Venezuelan TPS holders protection under the program until October 2026, but Noem's reversal led to 350,000 Venezuelan migrants losing TPS on April 7, 2025. The plaintiffs argued that Noem's decision violates the Administrative Procedure Act as well as TPS holders' Fifth Amendment right to due process. The plaintiffs requested that the court declare Noem's reversal of the TPS extension unlawful and order the extension to remain in effect.

A group of American taxpayers and recipients of government assistance filed a class action lawsuit against Elon Musk and Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent for sharing Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and Department of Treasury (Treasury) databases with Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). In order to pay taxes or receive government benefits, the plaintiffs provided the Treasury and OPM with their highly sensitive personal information, including Social Security Numbers, home addresses, and health information. The plaintiffs argued that Elon Musk violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act by deliberately accessing protected information stored in a government computer, and that the OPM and the Treasury violated the Privacy Act by failing to ask for the plaintiffs' consent before sharing their information with another person or agency. The plaintiffs requested that the court find the data sharing with DOGE unlawful and require the defendants to pay monetary damages. On May 15, 2025, the plaintiffs submitted a Notice of Voluntary Dismissal without prejudice.

The New York Immigration Coalition, Rural and Migrant Ministry, and three expectant immigrant mothers living in the country without citizenship have filed a class-action lawsuit against the Trump administration challenging President Trump's Executive Order 14160. This executive order denies birthright citizenship to infants born in the U.S., whose parents are not citizens or lawful permanent residents. The plaintiffs argue that this order directly violates the citizenship clause and the equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment and should to be declared unconstitutional and unenforceable.

The plaintiffs in this case are the Federal Bureau of Investigation Agents Association and a group of seven anonymous Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) employees. Upon returning to office, President Trump ordered the FBI to make a list of all employees involved in investigations of the January 6th, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol Building, and share that list with the Department of Justice for investigation. The plaintiffs have sued the Department of Justice to prevent further dissemination of information about FBI agents who investigated January 6th. The plaintiffs argued that the creation and dissemination of a list of January 6th investigators violates the Privacy Act as well as the First Amendment rights of FBI agents. On February 6, 2025 this case was consolidated with Does 1-9 v. Department of Justice (1:25-cv-003285), continuing under the name Does 1-9 v. Department of Justice.