Hours after being sworn in as the 47th president, Donald Trump signed dozens of sweeping executive orders, but left-leaning activist groups have been quick to fire back with lawsuits.
At least five federal lawsuits had been filed as of Monday evening, aimed at derailing Trump’s directives to end so-called “birthright citizenship“, establish the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and make it easier to fire federal workers.
More legal challenges are expected, with New York Attorney General Letitia James among those mulling action.
Three pro-immigration activist groups filed suit in New Hampshire asking a judge to find the birthright citizenship order unlawful on the grounds that the framers of the Constitution “enshrined” in the 14th Amendment the principle that children born in the US are citizens at birth.
Critics of Trump’s order point to what they say is clear language at the very beginning of the amendment: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
“This principle has enabled generations of children to pursue their dreams and build a stronger America,” the New Hampshire lawsuit says. “Not even the President — could deny children born in America their rightful place as citizens.”
James — who successfully prosecuted Trump in a $454 million civil fraud suit involving his businesses — concurred in a statement Monday that birthright citizenship has been a fundamental principle in the US “for 156 years” and said her office is considering bringing legal action against the president.
“This executive order is nothing but an attempt to sow division and fear, but we are prepared to fight back with the full force of the law to uphold the integrity of our Constitution,” James said. “As Attorney General, I will always protect the legal rights of immigrants and their families and communities. We are reviewing our legal options.”
Three more lawsuits were filed in DC federal court Monday opposing DOGE, an offshoot of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) with a mandate to find billions of dollars in taxpayer savings.
Trump originally tapped Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the DOGE, only for the latter to leave the fledgling effort to pursue political ambitions in his home state of Ohio.
The lawsuits argue that DOGE should be treated like a Federal Advisory Committee, which is subject to certain rules, such as maintaining transparency in operations and being “balanced in terms of the points of view represented.”
Instead, charges one suit filed by a teachers union, a veteran’s group and other activist organizations, DOGE is a “shadow operation lead by unelected billionaires who stand to reap huge financial rewards from this influence and access.”
The complaint went on to say the DOGE has been operating with no “oversight or opportunity for public participation the law requires.”
“Despite these conflicts of interest, DOGE is slated to dictate federal policy in ways that will affect millions of Americans, including those communities that plaintiffs represent,” the filing claims.
DOGE’s operations during the Trump transition were “shrouded in secrecy,” particularly with regard to the recommendations it was developing before Trump took office, the suit alleges.
All the suits argue that the creation of DOGE was unlawful and are demanding that the Trump administration adhere to federal rules regarding the formation of advisory committees — including giving notice of meetings and giving the public access to key records.
Last November, Musk and Ramaswamy teased plans to aggressively push for executive actions such as impoundment to curtail government and battled in court to defend those moves.
“The use of executive orders to roll back regulations that wrongly bypassed Congress is legitimate and necessary to comply with the Supreme Court’s recent mandates,” they argued in a Wall Street Journal opinion story.
Another lawsuit was filed in DC Monday by a federal employee union challenging another of Trump’s executive orders, making it easier to hire and fire government workers.
The suit claims that federal workers have a right to due process before they are terminated and that Monday’s order undermines that right.
The Post reached out to the White House for comment.
