Democrats keep taking the Trump administration to court over funding freezes — and they keep winning. Yet, they don’t see this cycle — in which the White House cuts off funding, and they sue to recoup it — ending any time soon.
Dozens of Democratic attorneys general have sued the administration over billions in federal grants, on everything from education and child care to disaster relief and energy projects. While billions of dollars of federal funding remain in limbo, many of the lawsuits have been successful.
In late December, North Carolina’s attorney general won a lawsuit against the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security, securing $17 million in emergency management grants funding that had been withheld from the state. Separately, AGs in California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York jointly sued to block a Trump administration freeze on over $10 billion in child care and social service funding. A federal judge issued a temporary order preventing the cuts while the case proceeds last week.
“It’s not going to work for Colorado, and I know my colleagues in other states aren’t going to take it either,” Attorney General Phil Weiser of Colorado told NOTUS about the administration’s repeated attempts to freeze funds.
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In all, Weiser has filed or joined about 50 lawsuits against the Trump administration on behalf of Colorado since President Donald Trump took office for the second time. Of those lawsuits, more than a dozen have been aimed at preventing the administration from withholding funding to the state.
In comparison, Weiser only filed 11 during Trump’s first term, when he overlapped with the Trump administration for two years.
NOTUS reached out to all 23 Democratic attorneys general about the scope of their legal efforts against the administration’s funding cuts.
They described a whirlwind effort, where blue states have felt forced to go to court to push back against the administration’s attempts to amass more power over the nation’s purse strings more than ever before. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has continued to threaten funding.
“What makes this moment unique is the frequency with which we’re forced into court simply to secure funding that Congress has already appropriated or to safeguard rights for Marylanders,” Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown said in a statement.
The White House and the Office of Management and Budget did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Since Trump’s return to the Oval Office, Democratic attorneys general have filed 76 lawsuits, 52 of which have seen rulings. At least 42 of those have been in favor of the Democratic AGs.
“Democratic AGs are in court winning back millions of dollars for their constituents. With over 70 lawsuits filed and many wins under their belt, Democratic AGs are protecting vital programs and funding,” Michelle Ortiz, executive director of the Democratic Attorneys General Association, told NOTUS in a statement.
Several states have joined forces in these lawsuits as part of a coordinated effort to seek relief from the administration’s agenda.
“We’ve filed 47 lawsuits and protected more than $3 billion in federal funding for education, public health, public safety, and more. I will continue holding this administration accountable any time they violate the law and put our communities at risk,” Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell told NOTUS in a statement.
Since the start of the second Trump administration, Democrats have relied on their state attorneys general to play a central role in blocking many of the White House’s biggest swings.
Now some of those AGs said they would like greater congressional engagement.
“I would welcome Congress taking a more active role in pushing back against some of these overreaches,” said Deputy Attorney General Ian Liston of Delaware, who leads the Office of Impact Litigation.
But many on Capitol Hill are looking back to their states to resist the administration’s changes.
“We’re going to fight very hard against the funding freezes,” said Rep. Ro Khanna of California.
“It is unacceptable. It is lawless. I do expect there to be lawsuits,” New York’s Rep. Dan Goldman said regarding the freeze on child care funds.
The Trump administration is not only being challenged by the top attorneys in the states. It also faces pushback from a range of nonprofit organizations.
“There have been about 500 federal lawsuits, and the vast majority of those lawsuits, when courts and when judges are ruling, are finding that the administration has operated unlawfully,” Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, told NOTUS, adding, “You’re not going to see us slowing down anytime soon. You’ll see our efforts continuing to accelerate.”
Democracy Forward has filed more than 150 lawsuits, including at least four major challenges to the Trump administration’s efforts to freeze federal financial assistance, helping to secure court orders blocking broad pauses on federal grants and loans, including funding for child care, public health, infrastructure, and immigrant services.
Though hundreds of lawsuits have been filed, Trump has continued to point to the states he is targeting, signaling that additional actions may follow.
“California, under Governor Gavin Newscum, is more corrupt than Minnesota, if that’s possible???” Trump posted on Truth Social last week. “The Fraud Investigation of California has begun.”
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