Trump Action Archive

Supporting reports

• Federal judge extends block on Trump's $1.8bn IRS settlement fund — U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema extended her order blocking the Trump administration's $1.8 billion fund created as part of a settlement with the IRS over the leak of Trump's tax returns. The fund had triggered bipartisan outrage when announced. Brinkema conditioned lifting the block on acting attorney general Todd Blanche and treasury secretary Scott Bessent filing a declaration under penalty of perjury within one week that the fund would not proceed. Trump's public equivocation on the fund's status prompted the extension despite Blanche's earlier congressional testimony that it was dead.
• Preliminary injunction ruling — Floyd v. Department of Justice (E.D. Va.) 1:26-cv-01399 — Judge Brinkema granted Plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction, blocking Defendants from taking any action to create or operate the Anti-Weaponization Fund, including transferring money to the Fund, processing claims, making payments, appointing managers, establishing governing rules, or reconstituting the Fund under any other name. The court ordered Defendants to reverse any transfers already made to accounts for the Fund and submit a compliance status report within seven days. The court also ordered Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, Jr., and Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent to file declarations under the penalty of perjury affirming they will not take further action to create or operate the Fund by June 19, 2026.
• Virginia Judge Leonie Brinkema issued injunction halting Trump's $1.8 billion slush fund — Virginia Judge Leonie Brinkema issued an injunction indefinitely halting Trump's $1.8 billion slush fund for allies, political cronies, and insurrectionists. The DOJ was ordered to produce evidence within one week that the fund has been abandoned, or the civil case will proceed. The ruling represents a judicial check on executive use of public funds for political purposes.

Supporting reports

• D.C. Circuit Court denied Trump's emergency motion to stay Kennedy Center removal — Late on June 12, 2026, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals denied Trump's emergency motion requesting a stay of Judge Cooper's order to remove Trump's name from the Kennedy Center. Despite the court's denial, the removal of signage took longer than anticipated due to the extensive scaffolding and labor required. The Department of Justice requested twelve additional hours to comply with the court order, stating the letters would come down "in the early hours of the morning of June 13," presumably to avoid the large audience watching the removal in person and on livestream.
• Judge Cooper denied DOJ stay request on Kennedy Center removal order — Judge Cooper rejected the Justice Department's request for a stay on his removal order, ruling that the government had not demonstrated it would prevail on the merits of its appeal. Cooper stated that staying the order "would not be in the public interest, which is rarely served by the 'perpetuation' of 'unlawful' governmental action."
• Justice Department filed notice of appeal of Kennedy Center removal order — Hours after the Kennedy Center board voted to launch a last-minute appeal to Judge Cooper's removal order, lawyers from the Justice Department filed a notice of appeal. They requested a stay on the judge's order, arguing that the board would be "forced to squander time and money" if the appeals court ruled in its favor and that it "would be incredibly confusing for the public" if Trump's name went back up after removal.
• Federal judge ordered Trump's name removed from Kennedy Center — A federal judge gave Trump 14 days to remove his name from the Kennedy Center. The deadline hit at midnight on June 12, 2026. Trump's legal team filed a last-minute stay request, arguing the removal would be "wasteful" and "confusing to the public," and escalated to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals seeking an emergency reprieve. Plaintiffs, including board member Joyce Beatty, responded that there is no real injury if the name is later restored, and documented real harm from the renaming: artists canceled performances, ticket sales dropped precipitously, and viewership of the Kennedy Center Honors broadcast fell. A judge upheld the ruling, and the Trump name was expected to come off the Kennedy Center around 6 p.m. ET on June 12.
• Judge denied Trump's emergency motion to reverse Kennedy Center name removal ruling — A federal judge in Washington, D.C. denied Trump's last-minute emergency petition seeking to reverse an earlier court order requiring removal of his name from the Kennedy Center. A work crew was deployed at the court-mandated deadline to remove the name, but work was halted due to rain. Trump subsequently filed an emergency stay petition with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, claiming the Kennedy Center board would face bankruptcy if forced to return donations received during his tenure.
• Trump's name removed from Kennedy Center facade — Workers removed the lettering referencing President Donald Trump from the facade of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on June 12, 2026, following the federal judge's order. The removal occurred around 6 p.m. ET after the midnight deadline passed.
• Department of Justice requested extension to comply with Kennedy Center removal order — The Department of Justice requested twelve additional hours from the court to comply with Judge Cooper's order to remove Trump's name from the Kennedy Center, stating that the letters would be removed "in the early hours of the morning of June 13." The request came after the government missed the midnight June 12 deadline, with the DOJ implicitly acknowledging that the removal would occur when there would not be a large audience watching either in person or on livestream.

Supporting reports

• Judge Boasberg declined request to vacate Jerome Powell grand jury opinion — Judge Boasberg declined a request from U.S. Attorney Pirro to vacate his earlier opinion quashing grand jury subpoenas targeting Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Boasberg went further, finding that Pirro had "harassed" Powell for nothing more than "displeasing" the president. The ruling upheld judicial protection of an independent agency head from politically motivated prosecution.

Supporting reports

• Federal judge invalidates Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee as unlawful tax — US District Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston issued a 42-page ruling invalidating Donald Trump's $100,000 annual fee on H-1B visa applications, which Trump had imposed via presidential proclamation in September 2025. Sorokin found the fee constituted an unlawful tax that violated federal administrative law and the Constitution, reasoning that only Congress possesses the power to levy taxes. The ruling vacated the fee, which represented a 20-to-50 fold increase over existing rates. The Trump administration is expected to appeal.
• Summary judgment ruling — State of California v. Noem (D. Mass.) 1:25-cv-13829 — Judge Sorokin granted Plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment, holding that the $100,000 payment requirement imposed on H-1B petitions under Proclamation 10973 is an unlawful tax exceeding the President's authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), and that the agency actions implementing it violated the APA by bypassing notice-and-comment, exceeding statutory authority, and being arbitrary and capricious. Specifically, Judge Sorokin found the Government's rationale for the payment requirement was “cursory,” lacked “reasoned explanation,” and failed to address the reliance interests of employers. The court vacated the implementing policy in its entirety and entered declaratory judgment that it is unlawful, declining to issue a separate permanent injunction. In the same order, Judge Sorokin denied Defendants' motion to dismiss except as to Plaintiffs' claims against the Department of Justice, the Attorney General, the Department of Labor, and the Secretary of Labor, which Plaintiffs had agreed to voluntarily dismiss and which the court dismissed without prejudice.
• Federal judge strikes down Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee — U.S. District Judge Leo T. Sorokin ruled that Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee is an unauthorized tax on businesses and must be vacated. The judge found the fee constitutes a tax rather than a penalty, meaning it cannot be imposed without congressional authorization. The precedent cited was the Supreme Court's Obamacare ruling in Sebelius.
• U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin struck down Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee as an illegal tax requiring congressional approval. — In California v. Markwaple Mullin, U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin ruled that Proclamation 10973, signed by Trump on September 19, 2025, imposing a $100,000 supplemental payment requirement on H-1B visa petitions, constitutes an illegal tax that must be enacted by Congress. The court found the fee would impede hiring of educators, harm public college staffing and academic research, and worsen medical worker shortages. The court struck down the policy.

Supporting reports

• US District Judge Orders Kennedy Center to Remove Trump's Name from Website — US District Judge Christopher Cooper issued an order requiring the Kennedy Center to remove all references to "Trump Kennedy Center" from its website and materials. The Kennedy Center complied by removing Trump's name from its website on Monday, June 8, ahead of a June 12 deadline set by the center's general counsel. Cooper's 94-page ruling stated that only Congress can change the Kennedy Center's official name, which is statutorily designated for President Kennedy. The judge also temporarily blocked a proposed $257 million renovation project that would have closed the venue for two years.