Since January 20, a wave of legal challenges has been launched against the Trump administration, with over 200 lawsuits filed by civil rights groups, legal organizations, public officials, municipalities, and private citizens. These suits target more than 90 executive orders, proclamations, and memoranda issued during Trump’s second term, according to a review by Fox News Digital.
Trump has long faced legal scrutiny, which intensified during the 2024 election season when he was indicted in four separate criminal cases. He was convicted in Manhattan in spring 2024 on 34 felony counts related to falsified business records.
The former president has consistently maintained his innocence across all charges and has argued that the prosecutions are politically motivated — a form of “lawfare” being used by Democrats to undermine his campaign and presidency.
Following Trump’s victory in the November 2024 election, several Democratic state attorneys general — including New York AG Letitia James — pledged to prepare for legal showdowns with the Trump administration over policies they claim are unlawful or harmful to constituents.
“We’ve been through this before, and we relied on the law to push back,” James said after the election. “We’re ready to do it again. As New York’s attorney general, it’s my duty to uphold the rule of law and defend the rights of our people. I won’t back down from that.”
Just weeks into Trump’s second term, at least 208 lawsuits have already been filed in federal courts challenging his administration’s actions.
Fox News Digital compiled a comprehensive list of the individuals, organizations, states, and municipalities that have taken legal action, along with the corresponding executive orders or directives that prompted the challenges. Here are some of the initial filings:
- Jan. 20, 2025: New Hampshire Indonesian Community Support; League of United Latin American Citizens; Make the Road New York – (Order: “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship”)
- Jan. 20, 2025: O. Doe; Brazilian Worker Center, Inc.; La Colaborativa – (Order: “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship”)
- Jan. 20, 2025: Center for Biological Diversity – (Order: “Creating and Enforcing the President’s Department of Government Efficiency”)
- Jan. 22, 2025: Make the Road New York – (Order: “Protecting the American People Against Invasion”)
- Jan. 20, 2025: National Treasury Employees Union – (Order: “Restoring Accountability in Federal Policy Roles”)
- Jan. 20, 2025: National Security Counselors, Inc. – (Order: “Creating and Enforcing the Department of Government Efficiency”)
- Jan. 20, 2025: American Public Health Association; American Federation of Teachers; Minority Veterans of America; VoteVets Action Fund; Center for Auto Safety; Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington – (Order: “Department of Government Efficiency”)
- Jan. 20, 2025: Le v. Trump – (Order: “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship”)
- Jan. 21, 2025: States of New Jersey, Massachusetts, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia; City and County of San Francisco – (Order: “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship”)
- Jan. 21, 2025: CASA, Inc.; Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project – (Order: “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship”)
- Jan. 21, 2025: States of Washington, Arizona, Illinois, Oregon – (Order: “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship”)
- Jan. 21, 2025: Delmy Franco Aleman, Cherly Norales Castillo, Alicia Chavarria Lopez – (Order: “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship”)
- Jan. 23, 2025: Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center – (Order: “Securing Our Borders”)
- Jan. 25, 2025: Organized Communities Against Deportation; Brighton Park Neighborhood Council; Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights; Raise the Floor Alliance – (Order: “Protecting the American People Against Invasion”)
- Jan. 26, 2025: Maria Moe, transgender federal prisoner – (Order: “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Reaffirming Biological Reality”)
- Jan. 27, 2025: Jane Does 1–2 – (Executive action seeking input from career civil service employees)
- Jan. 27, 2025: Various Religious Society of Friends groups (Quakers) – (Order on immigration enforcement in houses of worship)
- Jan. 28, 2025: Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility – (Order: “Restoring Accountability in Federal Policy Roles”)
- Jan. 28, 2025: Public Citizen, Inc.; State Democracy Defenders Fund; American Federation of Government Employees – (Order: “Department of Government Efficiency”)
- Jan. 28, 2025: States of New York, California, Illinois, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin – (Action challenging the temporary freeze on federal grants and aid programs)
- Jan. 28, 2025: National Council of Nonprofits; American Public Health Association; Main Street Alliance; SAGE – (Same action above: federal grant and aid freeze)
- Jan. 28, 2025: Nicolas Talbott, Erica Vandal, Kate Cole, Gordon Herrero, Dany Danridge, Jamie Hash, Koda Nature, and Cael Neary (transgender military personnel or applicants) – (Order: “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness”)
- Jan. 29, 2025: American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE); American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) – (Order: “Restoring Accountability in Federal Policy Roles”)
- Jan. 30, 2025: OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates – (Order: “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship”)
- Jan. 30, 2025: County of Santa Clara – (Order: “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship”)
