Multistate lawsuits against the federal government during the Trump administration, 2025
From Ballotpedia
This page includes an overview of notable multistate lawsuits filed against the federal government during President Donald Trump's (R) second term in office. Multistate lawsuits are legal actions involving two or more state attorneys general. As of May 25, 2025, 24 multistate lawsuits had been filed against the second Trump administration.[1]
For information about lawsuits filed against the Trump administration from 2017 to 2021, click here. For information about lawsuits filed against the Biden administration, click here.
This page contains the following sections:
- Noteworthy multistate lawsuits against the Trump administration
- List of multistate lawsuits against the Trump administration
- Multistate lawsuits by administration, 1981-2025
Noteworthy multistate lawsuits against the Trump administration
The following lawsuits received heightened media attention and involved major policy actions by the Trump administration.
Federal funds
New York v. Trump: Office of Management and Budget directive on temporary pause of agency grant, loan, and other financial assistance programs
- Administration action: The Office of Management and Budget issued a directive on January 27, 2025, titled, "Temporary Pause of Agency Grant, Loan, and Other Financial Assistance Programs." The directive said, "this memorandum requires Federal agencies to identify and review all Federal financial assistance programs and supporting activities consistent with the President's policies and requirements" and said, "Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders."[2]
- Lawsuit: Twenty-two states and D.C., led by New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), filed a lawsuit against Trump on January 28, 2025. The lawsuit argued that the directive violated the Administrative Procedure Act, and that the "defendants have no authority to impose a government-wide pause on federal awards" and they "cannot refuse to disburse funds appropriated by Congress contrary to congressional intent and directive."[3]
- Status: After plaintiffs filed an amended complaint, Judge Loren AliKhan of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued another injunction pausing the federal grant freeze on March 6, 2025.[1]
- States: New York, California, Illinois, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin
- Administration action: On February 7, 2025, the Department of Education began terminating grants related to the Teacher Quality Partnership program, a program seeking to "support high-quality teacher preparation and professional development for prospective teachers and school leaders," and the Supporting Effective Educator Development program, a program seeking to "increase the number of highly effective educators by supporting the implementation of Evidence-Based practices that prepare, develop, or enhance the skills of educators."[4][5] In a press release, the Department of Education said it terminated "grants to institutions and nonprofits that were using taxpayer funds to train teachers and education agencies on divisive ideologies."[6]
- Lawsuit: Eight states, led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D), argued that the directive violated Administrative Procedure Act.[7]
- Status: The Supreme Court issued an emergency ruling to overturn the temporary restraining order on the directive issued by the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.[8]
- States: California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, New York, Wisconsin
Immigration
Washington v. Trump: Executive order ending birthright citizenship for certain individuals
- Administration action: On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump (R) issued an executive order titled Protecting The Meaning And Value Of American Citizenship that said, beginning 30 days after the order, it would end the policy of birthright citizenship for individuals whose parents were in the United States without legal permission or whose parents were in the United States with temporary permission.
- Lawsuit: Four states, led by Washington Attorney General Nick Brown, argued that the order violated the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution, which says "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside," and the Immigration and Nationality Act, which says "a person born in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof [...] shall be [a] national[] and citizen[] of the United States at birth."[9][10]
- Status: The federal government appealed the lower court decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The court issued a nationwide preliminary injunction on February 6, 2025.[1]
- States: Washington, Arizona, Illinois, Oregon
List of multistate lawsuits against the Trump administration
The following table provides a list of lawsuits against the Trump administration involving two states or more. It also includes the date the action was initiated, the number of states involved, the docket or citation number, and the status of the case. This information comes from the State Litigation and AG Activity Database. It was last updated on May 25, 2025.[1]
| Case | Date filed | Number of states | Docket or citation | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois v. FEMA | May 13, 2025 | 20 | 1:25-cv-00206 | Pending |
| California v. U.S. Department of Transportation | May 13, 2025 | 20 | 1:25-cv-00208 | Pending |
| Washington v. Trump | May 9, 2025 | 15 | 2:25-cv-00869 | Pending |
| Washington v. U.S. Department of Transportation | May 7, 2025 | 17 | 2:25-cv-00848 | Pending |
| New York v. Kennedy | May 5, 2025 | 20 | 1:25-cv-00196 | Pending |
| New York v. Trump | May 5, 2025 | 18 | 1:25-cv-11221 | Pending |
| New York v. U.S. Department of Education | April 25, 2025 | 19 | 1:25-cv-11116 | Pending |
| Oregon v. Trump | April 23, 2025 | 12 | 1:25-cv-00077 | Pending |
| New York v. U.S. Department of Education | April 10, 2025 | 16 | 1:25-cv-02990 | Pending |
| Washington v. Trump | April 4, 2025 | 2 | 2:25-cv-00602 | Pending |
| Massachusetts v. Kennedy | April 4, 2025 | 16 | 1:25-cv-10814 | Pending |
| Rhode Island v. Trump | April 4, 2025 | 21 | 25-1477 | District court issued a preliminary injunction blocking the federal government's actions, which the federal defendants have appealed to the First Circuit |
| California v. Trump | April 3, 2025 | 19 | 1:25-cv-10810 | Pending |
| Colorado v. HHS | April 1, 2025 | 21 | 1:25-cv-00121 | District court granted the plaintiff states' temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, blocking the funding reductions in the plaintiff states |
| New York v. McMahon | March 13, 2025 | 21 | 1:25-cv-10601 | District court issued a preliminary injunction, which defendants appealed to the First Circuit |
| Maryland v. U.S. Department of Agriculture | March 6, 2025 | 20 | 25-01248 | District court issued a temporary restraining order against the federal government |
| California v. U.S. Department of Education | March 6, 2025 | 8 | 25-01244 | District court issued a temporary restraining order against the federal government |
| New Mexico v. Musk | February 13, 2025 | 14 | 1:25-cv-00429 | Court denied plaintiffs' request for temporary restraining order |
| Massachusetts v. National Institutes of Health | February 10, 2025 | 22 | 1:25-cv-10338 | Court granted nationwide preliminary injunction |
| New York v. Trump | February 7, 2025 | 19 | 1:25-cv-01144 | Pending |
| Washington v. Trump | February 7, 2025 | 3 | District court granted a preliminary injunction to the, federal defendant appealed to the Ninth Circuit | |
| New York v. Trump | January 28, 2025 | 23 | 25-1236 25-1138 |
Court issued preliminary injunction |
| New Jersey v. Trump | January 21, 2025 | 17 | 25-01170 | Court issued nationwide preliminary injunction |
| Washington v. Trump | January 21, 2025 | 4 | 25-00674 | Court issued nationwide preliminary injunction |
Multistate lawsuits by administration, 1981-2025
The following chart compares the total number of multistate lawsuits filed against each presidential administration between 1981 and 2025, according to the State Litigation and AG Activity Database.
See also
- Donald Trump presidential administration, 2025
- Donald Trump's executive orders and actions, 2025
- Donald Trump's Cabinet, 2025
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 State Litigation and AG Activity Database, "Searchable List of Multistate Lawsuits," accessed July 31, 2025 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "AGD" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ The New York Times, "Read the Memo Pausing Federal Grants and Loans," January 27, 2025
- ↑ California Office of the Attorney General, "New York v. Trump," January 28, 2025
- ↑ Department of Education, "Supporting Effective Educator Development Grant Program," accessed April 7, 2025
- ↑ Department of Education, "Teacher Quality Partnership Program," accessed April 7, 2025
- ↑ Department of Education, "U.S. Department of Education Cuts Over $600 Million in Divisive Teacher Training Grants," February 17, 2025
- ↑ Court Listener, "California v. Department of Education," accessed April 7, 2025
- ↑ SCOTUSBlog, "Department of Education v. California," April 7, 2025
- ↑ CourtListener, "State of Washington v. Trump," accessed January 29, 2025
- ↑ CourtListener, "State of Washington v. Trump (2:25-cv-00127)," accessed January 29, 2025
