US appeals court to hear Trump's bid to punish major law firms

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Reuters

May 14, 2026 6:04 AM EDT Updated 1 hour ago


WASHINGTON, May 14 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday will ask a federal ‌appeals court to reinstate the Republican leader’s executive orders punishing four major U.S. law firms, testing the scope of presidential power after judges in Washington resoundingly rejected the measures as unlawful.

The hearing before the Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the District ​of Columbia Circuit at 9:30 a.m. Eastern (1330 GMT) will include two Democratic-appointed judges and one Republican-appointed judge, ​a composition that could signal a difficult path for the government.

The targeted law firms — ⁠Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, WilmerHale and Susman Godfrey — each won sweeping victories in the lower federal court, where four ​Democratic- and Republican-appointed judges last year separately found Trump's executive orders violated free-speech and other provisions of the ​U.S. Constitution. Trump’s orders cited the law firms' past legal work, diversity policies and political ties. The orders were part of a broader campaign led by the president since the start of his second term targeting his perceived enemies.

The executive orders sought to bar the ​four firms’ lawyers from accessing federal buildings and to terminate U.S. government contracts held by their clients. The ​firms have denied any wrongdoing. The Trump administration appealed after the firms won orders permanently blocking the measures. Former Republican-appointed U.S. ‌Solicitor General ⁠Paul Clement will argue for the law firms. He will face off against Justice Department lawyer Abhishek Kambli.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-appeals-court-hear-trumps-bid-punish-major-law-firms-2026-05-14/

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REFERENCES (some)

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143411948
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143413821
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143415897
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143416421
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143437841
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143438177
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143441042
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143427595
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143446388
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143465117
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143487138
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143488782
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143625027
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143625619
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143628377

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. Appeals court to hear arguments over Trump's orders that sought to punish 4 elite law firms

Appeals court to hear arguments over Trump's orders that sought to punish 4 elite law firms

Four judges previously determined the executive orders were unconstitutional.

By Alexander Mallin
May 14, 2026, 5:15 AM

A District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals panel is set to hear arguments Thursday over the Trump administration's bid to reinstate executive orders that sought punishing sanctions against four elite law firms over their past representation or employment of perceived political foes of President Donald Trump.

Four separate district court judges had previously granted permanent restraining orders sought by the four law firms -- Perkins Coie, Susman Godfrey, Wilmer Hale and Jenner & Block -- after determining the EOs were unconstitutional. ... Some of the judges derided the White House's efforts to punish the firms in particularly blistering terms, likening the pressure campaign mounted last year by the Trump administration against 'Big Law' as akin to McCarthyism and the 'Red Scare' era in American history.

Staring down similar prospects of facing executive orders that sought to virtually eliminate their interactions with the government, at least nine other elite firms entered into controversial settlements with the Trump administration in exchange for providing pro bono legal services for causes supported by the White House.

Those settlements, which in sum totaled nearly $1 billion by the White House's calculation, led to an exodus of high-profile attorneys at several of the firms who said the agreements amounted to capitulation in response to an unlawful intimidation campaign by the Trump administration.

{snip}

[Bayard]

2. The law firms' transgressions--in trump's feeble mind--are on the same level as arranging rocks on a beach

His Enemies List has to be about 5 miles long by now.