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When our current nightmare began on January 20, 2025, the lawsuits started flying the next day. At first, I had intended to keep track of them myself, but it quickly surpassed my ability to do so. Here is a link to the list which encompasses 507 cases last I checked. New ones are added daily.
https://www.justsecurity.org/107087/tracker-litigation-legal-challenges-trump-administration/
There is also a tracker to see what monies are being withheld from Americans so you can see who is being hit the hardest – though we already know that from a policy perspective.
https://democrats-appropriations.house.gov/trumps-unprecedented-funding-freeze-hits-communities-acrossamerica?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=4/29/25%20%20AM%3A&utm_term=Punchbowl%20AM%20and%20Active%20Subscribers%20from%20Memberful%20Combined
These 507 cases are from January 21 to Nov. 4. Many different groups, law firms, non-profit organizations, and businesses are suing but so are the 22 Democratic Attorney’s General from New York to Hawaii who meet every other day by zoom to discuss strategy and plan action.
Arizona has been involved as of Nov. 4 in 30 of those cases with our Attorney General Kris Mayes being co-lead in three. She only won by 280 votes. Imagine if she had lost. Your vote counts. Here is a summary.
1/21/2025
Birthright citizenship, 14thAmendment, At Supreme Cult
1/28
Federal funding – to stop pause in federal funding. Granted states preliminary injunction stopping the pause in April, appealed
2/7
DOGE access to private info, Partial victory, preliminary injunction granted, appealed
2/10
National Institutes of Health – to stop cuts to medical research; Permanent injunction granted in April, appealed
2/13
NM v. Musk (Mayes co-lead); Creation of DOGE and appointment of Musk without congressional approval; Dismissed some claims, on going
3/7
Illegal mass layoffs; Appeals court dismissed on 9/9 because no federal employees were plaintiffs so no standing (right to sue)
3/13
Sued against destruction of Department of Education; Granted injunction, appealed
4/1
Health & Human Services and RFK Jr. for termination of public health grants; Restored, enjoined, appealed
4/3
Executive Orders about Elections – to control state elections; Held unconstitutional, appealed, hearing on February 2026
4/4
National Institute of Health v. public health grants – delay and termination; Held unconstitutional, denied stay, appealed
4/4
Stop funding to Libraries & museums; Funding to AZ public archives and records staff, issued preliminary injunction, government asked for stay, denied, appealed
4/10
Cutting education funding to address COVID; No action on complaint
4/23
Tariffs – to block; Set aside 5 Executive Orders re tariff’s, affirmed at appeals court, at Supreme Cult, had oral argument
4/29
Challenging termination of Americorp; Appeals court said states lacked standing so dismissed case on 9/8
5/5
Department of Health and Human Services & RFK Jr. to stop dismantling of DHHS; Temporarily blocked 9/17
5/5
Funding for development of wind energy had been stopped- sued to receive monies; Awaiting court ruling as of 7/25
5/7
Money for electric vehicle infrastructure had been stopped – sued to receive monies; Temporarily blocked on 8/1
5/9
Administration issued Energy Emergency Declaration to gut environmental protections – sued to stop; Awaiting court hearing as of 10/27
6/24
Office of Management and Budget Federal stripped funding – sued to stop; Awaiting court ruling 7/31
7/1
DHHS access to private data, NOT to give to ICE; Awaiting court ruling 10/1
7/14
Education funding – frozen; Awaiting court hearing as of 8/05
7/16
FEMA – stop shut down; Temporarily blocked 8/5
7/17
Protecting the Affordable Care Act – challenged a rule by DHHS that would make it harder to get coverage under ACA; Awaiting court hearing as of 7/17
7/21
Public programs – to stop restrictions to health, education, and social service programs; Temporarily blocked as of 9/10
7/28
SNAP personal info – keep private; 10/25 – preliminary injunction granted to block demand for personal info
10/1
Department of Justice to block funding for survivors of Domestic Violence and other crimes; Enjoined i.e. stopped, October 10
10/16
Mayes is co-lead, attempting to end USDA money for Solar for All, a program for low income households; Waiting court hearing as of 10/16
10/28
Mayes is co-lead, SNAP v. USDA for suspending SNAP; Ordered to fund by 11/5, at Supreme Cult now. Katanji Brown Jackson’s action in keeping the stay on was to keep the case with herself rather than going to full Supreme Cult which has it on appeal from the administration.
11/3
Public Service Loan forgiveness – rule that would allow the federal government to deem certain local governments and nonprofits as NOT eligible for such programs if they are disfavored by the administration; Just filed.
11/4
FEMA grants – interfering with grants already allocated, AZ would lose $38 million.; Just filed.
The topics of the lawsuits are:
A. Birth right citizenship = 1
B. Funding freeze or firing of employees = 6
C. Private information – keeping private = 4
D. Protecting education = 4
E. Public health = 5
F. Elections = 1
G. Tariffs = 1
H. Energy/environment = 4
I. Attacking the most vulnerable = 4
a. FEMA = 2
b. Domestic violence victims = 1
c. SNAP recipients = 1
You can’t help but see the pattern.
In every case, the administration argues that funding cuts or firings were done to be “in line with the president’s priorities.” In our Constitutional system, the president’s priorities are not what determines the budget or spending. Article 1 of the Constitution squarely puts the power to raise and spend money with Congress not the president. It’s the president’s job to carry out the priorities of Congress that represents the people not his own. Thus far I have seen no one argue this point.
The results of the 30 lawsuits are as follows:
A. Won preliminary injunction = 13
B. On appeal = 9
C. Found unconstitutional = 2
D. Dismissed against plaintiffs on standing = 2
E. Awaiting ruling after hearing = 3
F. Awaiting hearing = 8
(they can be more than one thing so total more than 30)
Of the cases filed by the Democratic Attorney’s General, they have won 80% of the time which is a good result. But it takes a tremendous amount of work and time and money to do these cases. So those law firms and nonprofits that bring these cases from the Energy Defense Fund to Public Citizen to ACLU to Union of Concerned Scientists to Center for Constitutional Law need your support. Do what you can.
Unfortunately I can’t help but comment on the betrayal by the seven Democratic senators on the shutdown. Obviously, those Democrats who voted for ending the shutdown have never dealt with bullies or men who abuse women. What the 7 Democrats have done is reinforced Trump in two things:
1) When he does something terrible (cut ACA) and Democrats fight back, do something worse (cut SNAP) and they will give in. This is the lesson Trump will learn – do more and worse and the Dems will fold. If you slap your wife and she still talks back, beat her next time so she’ll shut up.
2) Senator King the independent said there was no hope Trump would come to the table even after the victories Tuesday Nov. 4 so we might as well get something. But you got nothing. A promise to vote is not a vote and it certainly is not passing it. Nor will it get SNAP flowing. What they reinforced for Trump is never go to the table. Never let your wife stay in touch with her family or friends – never.
Some talking head said the Democrats could use this in the elections as if this would scare Trump or the Republicans. Trump is not concerned about the elections because he believes he will win – forever – or there will be no elections. Like the abuser who is not the least bit scared about his victim calling the police, because he knows the police and prosecutor will do nothing as they have done so many times before.
The Democrats should know that we are no longer working under the usual rules of engagement. Trump is not a reasonable, rational man. He is a sociopath and bully with zero empathy who is delusional and has advancing dementia in real time.
A basic rule of organizing is that you have to know your audience. If the Democratic party doesn’t know Trump by now, they are more incompetent than I thought. This is exactly what happened in Germany – the parties and the legislature kept giving him more and more power until it was too late to take it back. We know how that story ended. How can we never learn anything?
I was even more upset (if possible) when I learned that in that last appropriation for Congress is a measure that allows the eight Republican senators whose phone logs were seized by Jack Smith in the investigation about the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 to sue the government for up to $500,000 each.
Even more – language in the bill eliminates the rules intended to prevent food contamination and foodborne illness at farms and restaurants including limiting the creation of rules to regulate ultra-processed foods – one of the brainworm guys obsessions.
If you haven’t yet contacted your representative and told that person to vote no, do it now. If you have, do it again. I’m sending this out a day early because it might be over by tomorrow.
Attorneys who remember Buck v. Bell from law school will particularly appreciate the meme below. But they forgot the “pimp” part for Donald as I’m sure the Epstein files will show.
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