Responses to the Trump Administration

A group of transgender military service members have sued the Trump administration to block Executive Order 14183, banning transgender people from serving in the United States military. On January 27, 2025, President Trump signed the order, titled "Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness," which reinstated his ban on transgender service members from his first term in office. The plaintiffs argued that this executive order violates their Fifth Amendment right to equal protection under the law.

A law practice representing federal workers has filed a class action complaint against the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The complaint alleges that NOAA's mass termination of probationary employees in February 2025 violated the Privacy Act. Specifically, the complaint claims that NOAA, along with the Department of Commerce, DOGE, OPM, and OMB, maintained and used inaccurate and incomplete personnel records by asserting the employees were fired due to poor job performance without providing supporting evidence or documentation.

This case involves Mohsen Mahdawi, a lawful permanent resident detained by the Department of Homeland Security during a naturalization interview. Mahdawi, a recent Columbia University undergraduate and incoming graduate student, filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his detention. He alleges the detention is part of a broader administration policy targeting noncitizens for speech critical of Israel, formalized through Executive Orders 14161 and 14188 and operationalized via discretionary “Rubio Determinations.” Mahdawi sought immediate release and raised claims under the First Amendment, the Due Process Clause, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the non-delegation doctrine.

The law firm Susman Godfrey has sued the Trump administration for issuing an executive order targeting the firm. Plaintiff argues that the administration's EO is unconstitutional and retaliatory.

A watchdog group has sued the Trump administration for unlawfully deleting federal records. According to news reports, national security officials used Signal’s disappearing message function to discuss sensitive military planning, including operations involving Vice President J.D. Vance and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz. The plaintiff argues that the government officials violated the Federal Records Act.

Open Technology Fund has sued the Trump administration for terminating grants issued by the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) and used to counter digital authoritarianism worldwide. The plaintiff argues that USAGM is violating the law by withholding Congressionally-appropriated funds.

Several arts organizations have sued the Trump administration in response to Executive Order 14168, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” Following this EO, these arts organizations lost federal grants as they appeared to be "promoting gender ideology." This lawsuit asserts that the NEA’s “gender ideology” prohibition is unconstitutional under the First and Fifth Amendments.

A coalition of educators, teachers' unions, and the American Sociological Association have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Education challenging a new policy that threatens to withhold funding from any educational institution that engages in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts or teaches accurate histories of race and slavery. Titled the "Dear Colleague Letter," this policy asserts that the 2023 Supreme Court opinion about race in college admissions prohibits all schools (pre-K through higher education) from any use of race in all aspects of "student, academic, and campus life." The plaintiffs argue that this interpretation of the law violates the plaintiffs' First Amendment right to free speech as well as their Fifth Amendment right to due process. The plaintiffs request that the court declare the policy unlawful and prevent it from being enforced.