WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on March 2, 2026, formally dropped its appeals from four court rulings that challenged President Donald Trump’s executive orders aimed at sanctioning four major law firms: Jenner & Block, WilmerHale, Perkins Coie and Susman Godfrey.
The orders punished the firms in retaliation for their First Amendment-protected work on lawsuits that have been actively disfavored by the president.
These include challenges to his LGBTQ+ and immigration policies.
Their past employment as attorneys has led the president to view them as his own personal political and legal adversaries, one of these people being Robert Mueller.
Brian Hauss, deputy director of the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy & Technology Project, had this to say:
“The Trump administration finally admits what everyone knew on Day 1: There is no way to defend these unconstitutional executive orders, this shameful assault on the rule of law has failed, thanks to the brave lawyers who refused to compromise their integrity.”
Trump’s executive orders are not just confined to the four law firms but affect many law firms.
The four law firms that are being targeted specifically have filed lawsuits against the illegal executive orders that are directly affecting them.
The ACLU, along with a cross-ideological group of legal advocacy organizations, has responded by filing an amicus brief that asks the courts to review the same executive orders that have been affecting them and violating their constitutional rights.
Arthur Spitzer, who is a senior counsel member at ACLU-D.C., had this to say about the situation at hand:
“Today’s action by the Justice Department confirmed that President Trump cannot punish law firms for representing clients he doesn’t like. Unfortunately, this confirmation came after the president imposed enormous costs on the firms and the legal system. Still, our legal system ultimately rebuffed a significant threat.”
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