A Peek Inside California’s 100 Lawsuits Against the Trump Administration

By Chris Vu

In an extraordinary feat, California has filed 100 lawsuits against the Trump administration, reaching its milestone on August 28, 2020. California is not alone though, in challenging Trump’s administration in the courts. Over 130 multistate lawsuits have been filed against the administration, according to a database compiled by Professor Paul Nolette of Marquette University.

The lawsuits brought against the Trump administration greatly outnumber those brought against previous presidential administrations. The chart below compares the number of lawsuits brought against the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations during their respective terms.

Since 2017, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has challenged the Trump administration’s policies on the environment, immigration, healthcare, education, civil rights, the 2020 Census, and even the U.S. Postal Service for two separate issues.

So far, the state has had more victories than losses. California won 44 cases, either through court orders or because the agencies changed their own decisions that resulted in favorable outcomes - and lost in only eight cases. Six of those wins are currently being appealed by the administration. The remaining 48 lawsuits were either settled, dropped, or are still pending in the courts. 

Five of these lawsuits have been summarized below. These were chosen because each involves federal policies - immigration, health care, Title IX rights, Internet access, and the 2020 Census - and could potentially affect federal policies, as well as the lives of people in our communities.

1. Rescission on Deferred Action for Childhood (DACA)

Through the DACA program, undocumented individuals brought to the country as children, known as DREAMers, receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation. 

After the Trump administration decided to end the program in September 2017, California brought a suit to challenge that rescission, which eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court. 

On June 18, 2020, the Court ruled against the decision to rescind, on the basis the Trump administration had failed to provide an adequate reason as required by the Administrative Procedure Act. 

Since then, DREAMers continue to renew their DACA status.

2. Citizenship Question on 2020 Census

California sued Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross over the department’s decision to include a question about citizenship on the 2020 Census. 

The state argued that it violated both the U.S. Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act. The question would deter noncitizens from responding, thus states with large immigrant populations could risk losing billions in federal funding and some congressional seats. 

New York filed a similar lawsuit against Ross where the Supreme Court issued an opinion to block the citizenship question. 

As a result, the Trump administration conceded and removed the question from the final version of the 2020 Census.

3. Repeal of Net Neutrality Rules Upheld, but States Still Allowed to Impose Own Rules

In late 2017, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) repealed the Open Internet Order, ending federal mandates on net neutrality. The FCC also put a preemptive directive that blocked states’ net neutrality laws. In response, California and other states sued the FCC at the D.C. Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Additionally, the state introduced and signed into law SB 822 in order to preserve net neutrality for California’s consumers. But enforcement of the law was put on hold until the court made its decision.

The court largely upheld the FCC’s repeal, but it struck down the preemption directive, allowing California’s law to go into effect. Yet legal challenges remain.

Just this past September, Becerra’s office defended California’s law by responding to a motion for preliminary injunction filed by the Trump administration and major broadband providers.

4. Title IX Rollbacks on Handling Campus Sexual Assault Incidents

Title IX requires schools that receive federal funding to provide students with an educational environment free of discrimination based on sex, including sexual violence and harassment. 

In May 2020, the Department of Education finalized a new rule that would essentially provide greater protection for students accused of sexual assault or harassment. 

California and other multiple states sued Secretary Betsy DeVos, arguing that it would force survivors to overcome more obstacles to secure protections. 

The state’s motion for preliminary injunction was denied while the merits of the case are actively pending in court. Briefs for summary judgment are due in late November 2020.

5. Battle for Affordable Care Act’s Fate Returns at the Supreme Court 

Ten years after Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) passed, state and federal governments remain divisive over the act’s constitutionality. 

Texas challenged the ACA as unconstitutional, arguing that the whole act is no longer valid because Congress had gutted the individual mandate tax penalty provision. The Trump administration sided with Texas, and a federal judge held it was unconstitutional. 

In response, California petitioned the Supreme Court to review the decision. The Court granted the petition on March 2, 2020, just as the country was beginning to grapple with COVID-19. Oral arguments that lasted nearly two hours were held on November 10. 

Three key issues were argued: whether states like Texas have standing to sue, whether the individual mandate to get health insurance is still constitutional, and whether the mandate itself can be severed, leaving the rest of the ACA intact. 

A decision will be made sometime in 2021.