Trump Action Archive

Supporting reports

• Judges rule against Trump administration in 75 First Amendment cases — Reuters analysis found that federal judges ruled against the Trump administration on First Amendment grounds in 75 of 93 cases where such arguments were raised, compared to 13 rulings against the Biden administration in 27 cases. The rulings covered retaliation against law firms, journalist restrictions, university funding cuts, actions against pro-Palestinian students and faculty, and excessive force at protests. Ten decisions came from Republican-appointed judges. The administration appealed approximately two-thirds of the rulings and persuaded appeals courts to pause or overturn 15 decisions.

Supporting reports

• Federal judge orders Trump administration to restore removed national park historical displays — US District Judge Angel Kelley ruled that the Trump administration must reinstate history and science materials removed from national monuments and parks pursuant to a March 2025 executive order titled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History." The order had directed removal of exhibits referencing slavery, civil rights, Indigenous history, and climate change, which Kelley found constituted "censorship and sanitization" and told "half-truths." The administration was given 21 days to comply.
• Federal judge struck down Trump administration's removal of slavery and civil rights history from national parks — Federal Judge Angel Kelley in Massachusetts issued a ruling Friday striking down the Trump administration's effort to remove historical markers from national parks under the March 2025 "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History" executive order. The order had directed the Interior Department to remove content deemed to "inappropriately disparage" Americans, resulting in park rangers being ordered to discard educational materials about slavery, the Civil Rights Movement, harm to Indigenous people, and climate change. Targeted items included an 1863 image of enslaved man Peter Gordon at Fort Pulaski National Park, an exhibit about enslaved people at George Washington's home, Indigenous history displays at Golden Gate National Park, and a climate change marker at Fort Sumter. Judge Kelley ruled the government's stewardship of park sites "carries a responsibility to present history in full rather than in favored fragments." The Trump administration announced it will appeal.

Supporting reports

• Trump administration demands removal of transgender references from federal sex education program; 11 states comply, 16 states sue — The Trump administration issued a Monday deadline requiring states receiving federal sex education funding (the Personal Responsibility Education Program, or Prep) to remove all references to gender identity and transgender/non-binary people or lose millions in federal funding. At least 11 states with Republican legislatures complied or announced compliance. Sixteen Democratic-led states and Washington DC sued, claiming the demand tramples Congressional authority. A federal judge blocked the administration from cutting funding to the suing states, finding the administration provided no reasonable explanation for the new conditions beyond "pretext."
• Federal judge blocks HHS from defunding Democratic states over sex education curriculum dispute — U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken issued a court order late Monday blocking the Department of Health and Human Services from cutting federal Prep funding to Democratic-led states that refused to remove transgender references from sex education curricula. The judge found that HHS failed to demonstrate the new grant conditions were reasonable and provided no legitimate explanation beyond "pretext" for the action, noting HHS did not consider statutory objectives, relevant data, or anti-discrimination statutes.

Supporting reports

• Federal judge blocked DEI funding cuts to schools and universities — A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from moving forward with two actions designed to cut federal funding from schools and universities that do not eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, writing that the efforts caused "millions of educators to reasonably fear that their lawful, and even beneficial, speech might cause them or their schools to be punished."
• Federal Judge Blocks Trump Administration's Actions Against DEI Programs — A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from cutting federal funding to schools and universities that do not eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, citing fears of punishment for lawful speech.

Supporting reports

• Supreme Court grants stay on Education Department layoff order — The Supreme Court's right-wing majority granted a stay on a lower court order blocking the Trump administration from gutting the Department of Education while litigation proceeds. Federal Judge Myong Joun had ordered reinstatement of 1,378 fired workers after nineteen states and D.C. sued to stop the layoffs. The stay permits the layoffs to continue. Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson dissented, arguing the majority enabled executive defiance of law and violated separation of powers.
• Preliminary injunction ruling — Somerville Public Schools v. Trump (D. Mass.) 1:25-cv-10677 — The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to grant a stay of a preliminary injunction that had blocked the administration's plans to dismantle the Department of Education and fire thousands of department employees. The majority did not provide any reasoning. In dissent , Justice Sotomayor, joined by Justices Kagan and Jackson, warned that the Court's order enables the executive branch to functionally “abolish” an entire department “by executive fiat.”
• Preliminary injunction ruling — State of New York v. McMahon (D. Mass.) 1:25-cv-10601 — The Supreme Court granted the federal government's request for a stay in the case of McMahon v. New York. This decision temporarily allows the Department of Education to proceed with a reduction in force that impacts nearly 50% of its workforce, approximately 1,378 employees. The stay was granted in a 6-3 decision, with Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissenting. The case was initially brought by twenty states and the District of Columbia, challenging the reduction in force as unlawful.
• Supreme Court Grants Stay in McMahon v. New York — The Supreme Court granted an emergency appeal from the Trump administration, allowing it to move forward with gutting the Department of Education by firing nearly half of the agency's workforce. The decision bypassed lower-court review and normal appellate procedures.
• Supreme Court grants emergency appeal allowing Department of Education workforce cuts

Supporting reports

• US Supreme Court allows Trump administration to freeze $65m in teacher-training grants — The US Supreme Court issued a 5-4 emergency order allowing the Trump administration to temporarily freeze $65 million in teacher-training grants supporting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The decision overturned a federal judge's temporary restraining order that had blocked the cuts. Eight Democratic-led states challenged the freeze, arguing it violated federal law requiring clear explanation for cancellations. The programs affected serve over 100 teacher preparation initiatives, particularly in math, science, and special education. Schools have already begun laying off staff and canceling programs due to the funding loss.
• Supreme Court Grants Stay in Department of Education v. California — The Supreme Court granted a stay of a lower court order in the case of Department of Education v. California. The case involved the Department of Education's termination of grants related to the Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) and Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) programs. Eight states, led by California, challenged the terminations, arguing they violated the Administrative Procedure Act. The lower court had ordered the restoration of the grants, but the Supreme Court's decision allows the terminations to proceed pending appeal. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.
• Supreme Court releases opinion in Department of Education v. California (24A910) — The Supreme Court released an official slip opinion in Department of Education v. California. Docket number(s): 24A910.