Not all lawsuits are created equal. That’s become clear in the fourth week of Donald Trump’s administration, where more than 60 lawsuits are now on file in federal courts against the president’s attempts to remake the federal government.
Latest court moves: A judge in Massachusetts unfroze the federal government’s exit plan, finding unions hadn’t mustered the ability at this time for him to block Trump’s “Fork in the Road” plan, which will usher thousands of federal civil servants out of their jobs.
And a second judge in Washington, DC, had extensive questions at a hearing Thursday for lawyers representing United States Agency for International Development workers about how they are harmed by the administration’s plans to dismantle that agency.
The judge hasn’t ruled yet on this legal question and others, but says he will by next Friday. In these two cases and perhaps many more, the question of whether the plaintiffs have standing could be a harsh initial hurdle in court.
When Trump says “you’re fired”: Some lawsuits, like a challenge from eight inspectors general wanting their jobs back that was filed by high-profile lawyers, still has no emergency provision to prompt quick court action.
Yet two other cases from government watchdogs Trump fired moved at lightning speed. They ask major questions about the president’s power, especially in firing officials who are supposed to act with some level of independence. One was from federal workforce’s whistleblower watchdog Hampton Dellinger, to be restored as special counsel.
Challenges against Musk and DOGE: Several suits against Elon Musk also highlight how some of these lawsuits will gather momentum while others atrophy. There are more than a dozen against Musk or his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) actions as of Friday morning.
A wave of lawsuits in the first day of Trump’s presidency were aimed to dismantle DOGE, but those cases may be dead in the water now because they landed before anyone even knew what DOGE was. Lawsuits fighting DOGE emissaries’ access to protected, personal or otherwise private data at several departments were the next, more pointed round of cases.
There are three cases along these lines with major court hearings today. They each challenge DOGE access to data: at the Treasury Department, the Department of Education and the Department of Labor.
A new round of cases challenging Musk and DOGE were filed on Thursday, from two sets of well-known litigators. These are more general challenges to the authority given to Musk, and it remains to be seen how quickly the courts might look at them.
When it comes to the judiciary, each judge runs their courtroom exactly as they please.