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Public Citizen filed the first lawsuit of Trump’s second term — literally one minute after he was sworn in. We have filed 35 more lawsuits against the regime since then (and there will be more). We have won some, we have lost some, and many are still working their way through the courts. Stay tuned for an upcoming email with updates on every case. Today, we wanted to answer some questions we’ve gotten about these lawsuits and other ways Public Citizen is confronting the Trump regime. HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHICH CASES TO FILE? To file a lawsuit against the government, first we need to identify a law the government has violated. Then we need to identify a person or organization who was, or is very likely to be, harmed by that violation and is a good fit to serve as the “plaintiff” (i.e. who we represent in the case). When we see something wrong that the Trump regime is doing, that’s what we look at first: Does that wrongful action violate the law, and who is directly impacted? Both of those things can sometimes be straightforward and sometimes be tricky. Many outrageous things aren’t actually illegal. And many people and organizations are hesitant to go up against the Trump regime in court. In addition, the courts have set a high bar for what someone needs to show to be able to sue — what the courts refer to as “standing.” For example, we’re all taxpayers, but being a taxpayer generally does not give someone the right to sue in federal court, even when their money is being wasted — on the grounds that the harm is too generalized. Other factors also go into deciding which cases to file: How important is a particular issue? Does the wrongful behavior involve an area of law in which Public Citizen has expertise? How are courts likely to rule, given the signals coming from the Supreme Court? Lastly, there are real constraints on our budget and staffing. Public Citizen never has, and never will, take money from Uncle Sam or Big Business — our independence and integrity are not for sale. Our work is powered by everyday folks chipping in if and when they can. Since Trump returned to office, we have seen a marked uptick in donations. We can’t thank our supporters enough for that. We also know they are not a bottomless reserve of cash. As a nonprofit organization that has been fighting vastly better funded corporate and government entities for over half a century, we prize our ability to budget and operate efficiently and responsibly. THE TRUMP REGIME IS DOING SO MANY SCANDALOUS AND DESTRUCTIVE THINGS, AND IT SEEMS TO BE GETTING AWAY WITH SO MUCH. WHY CAN’T THE COURTS STOP MORE OF IT? Many of the cruel and damaging things the administration does are, unfortunately, legal. For example, Congress recently voted to strip Medicare benefits from 15 million people. When the administration implements that horrific policy, it will be legal — not right, but legal. Another constraint is that with some of the unlawful things the administration has done, nobody is legally in a position to sue. For example, the Constitution’s “emoluments clause” makes it illegal for a president to accept foreign gifts without congressional authorization. But when Trump takes a foreign gift, there may not be anyone who has “standing” to sue him over it (meaning anyone who was directly harmed). And, of course, even when we and others are able to file cases against the regime in federal court, we don’t always prevail. There are a lot of reasons for this, and every case is different, but one reason is that judges — whether appointed by Democratic or Republican presidents — tend to give the federal government the benefit of the doubt. WHAT HAPPENS AFTER YOU FILE A LAWSUIT AGAINST THE ADMINISTRATION? In normal times, lawsuits against the government tend to move slowly. We start by filing a “complaint” in court. Sixty days later, the government files its response. Then both sides file motions arguing why they should win and responses to each other’s motions. After several more months, the judge issues a ruling. Then the losing side might appeal. Some of our cases still move at that kind of pace. But in many of the cases in Trump’s second term, we are trying to stop things that can’t be fixed after the fact or where the people we represent are experiencing harm right now. As a result — much more frequently than ever before — we are asking judges to rule on a very expedited basis, filing motions for “temporary restraining orders” (TROs) or “preliminary injunctions.” If a judge grants such a motion, the government must pause its unlawful activity while the case proceeds. To get a preliminary injunction, we have to persuade the judge that (1) we are likely to win in the end and (2) without immediate relief, the plaintiff will experience harm that cannot be repaired later. Even so, the administration appeals most preliminary injunctions. It can all get quite jumbled, but, eventually, things do get sorted out. We do our best to keep you apprised about key developments along the way. One thing to keep in mind is that filing a lawsuit is the beginning, not the end — after we announce a case, there is tons more work for our lawyers to do. WHAT ABOUT THE SUPREME COURT? Public Citizen has argued more than 60 cases before the Supreme Court, during Democratic and Republican administrations. In addition, we file briefs and often provide assistance to one side or the other in a significant number of other cases that come before the Court. The Supreme Court has issued many rulings we vigorously disagree with, including Trump v. United States, which provides broad criminal immunity to the president for almost any action taken while serving in the Oval Office. In this second Trump term, the Supreme Court has issued quite a few rulings on its “shadow docket” (the name people have given to cases filed as emergency motions asking the Court to act quickly, such as requests to put preliminary injunctions on hold). Most of the shadow docket decisions so far have favored the Trump administration. However, we won one of the very first shadow docket decisions the Court issued on challenges to Trump actions. Most cases that we file — or that anyone files — do not reach the Supreme Court. The government has accepted defeat in some cases that we and others have won. And the Court may decline to review some cases the administration asks it to take up. When we lose cases at the Supreme Court (or in any court), it hurts — because the stakes are often so high. But that does not necessarily mean the fight is over. We can go to Congress and try to get laws changed. We can push for a future administration, or even the Trump administration itself, to reverse its policies. These are not pathways that will give fast results, but we don’t quit just because we got an adverse court ruling. WHAT CAN BE DONE WHEN THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION DEFIES COURTS? When the administration does not follow a court’s order, we go back to the court, tell the judge what’s going on, and ask for a more specific order or a decision holding the relevant government official in contempt of court. The Trump regime has been more willing to mislead or slow-walk decisions than any we have ever encountered. It sometimes takes multiple efforts to get the administration to comply. While the regime has defied rulings on a few occasions, it is, for the most part, following court orders. WHY AREN’T WE SUING DONALD TRUMP, OR THIS OR THAT OFFICIAL IN HIS REGIME, INDIVIDUALLY? Longstanding legal principles make it impossible in many areas of law, and very difficult in other areas of law, to hold individual government officials personally accountable. Beyond that, the Supreme Court’s 2024 ruling in Trump v. United States conjured out of thin air a broad presidential immunity from criminal prosecution. Our lawsuits can do — and are doing — a lot to block bad policy or actions. They are not, however, a way to impose personal accountability on Donald Trump.