California Sues Trump Administration 16 Times, And Counting

CALIFORNIA — When California voters cast their ballots in the Nov. 5 General Election, 6,081,697 of them picked Donald Trump to be president. That represented 38.3% of all state ballots cast for U.S. President in 2024.

California did not go for Trump, but he obviously has more supporters here than in most of the reddest states.

Now that Trump is back in the Oval Office, some in his California MAGA base accuse Golden State leaders of filing lawsuits to block the president's agenda.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has countered, "Over and over, I’ve made clear that my office will only take legal action against the Trump Administration when it breaks the law."

California has filed 16 lawsuits against the Trump 2.0 administration — the first suit came on Jan. 21, one day after the president took office. The most recent was April 29.

Here's a look at the California versus Trump lawsuits, starting with the current case and working backward in time to January. Nearly all of the lawsuits involve other states joining as plaintiffs in the cases:

April 29: Bonta co-leads 23 attorneys general and two states in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s cancellation of AmeriCorps grants and the dismantling of the agency via an 85% workforce reduction.

The suit alleges Trump’s cost-cutting efforts through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) illegally gutted the Congressionally-created AmeriCorps. The complaint also alleges the administration reneged on grants funded through the AmeriCorps state and national program.

AmeriCorps staffed about 700 paid employees, and DOGE placed 535 of them on leave earlier this month.

AmeriCorps is a 30-year-old federal agency that provides opportunities for Americans to serve their communities via volunteer work. AmeriCorps grants fund community projects across the United States. Congress had approved $557 million in funding this year.

April 25: California challenges the U.S. Department of Education’s efforts to withhold federal funding from public schools that refuse to follow the administration's interpretation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with respect to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

California has refused to certify its compliance with the administration's anti-DEI efforts because the state argues that "there is no lawful or practical way to do so given the [Education] Department’s vague, contradictory, and unsupported interpretation of Title VI." Furthermore, the state argues that the president has exceeded his constitutional authority and violated the law.

According to the state, $7.9 billion in federal funding for California public schools is at risk because of its refusal to comply with the administration.

April 16: California sues the Trump administration over what the state argues is the president's unlawful use of power to impose tariffs.

The Trump administration has issued dozens of executive orders under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 to impose tariffs. The state claims it's an illegal maneuver.

"To justify his tariffs, the President has declared national emergencies and extended prior declared emergencies beyond the bounds of reason. But with or without emergencies, the President does not have the power to levy tariffs under the IEEPA," the state argues.

The state's complaint alleges that the U.S. Constitution expressly gives the authority to impose tariffs to Congress — not the president — and the IEEPA does not provide the required congressional authorization to Trump to impose tariffs.

April 10: California Attorney General Rob Bonta files a lawsuit challenging the Department of Education’s efforts to claw back hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for school districts to support the academic recovery of students following the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the state, "In California alone, over $200 million in previously awarded and obligated funding is at stake — funding that school districts are already putting to use for programs such as afterschool and summer learning initiatives, the purchase of educational technology, and the provision of mental health services and support."

The federal funding is part of COVID-19 relief money. Schools were required to finalize plans to use the last of nearly $130 billion in Education Department funding by September 2024, and liquidate the money by January, unless they won a reprieve from the Biden administration. The “liquidation extension” requests allowed schools to spend the federal money on previously approved projects through early next year.

However, Education Secretary Linda McMahon told schools that she has "reconsidered" the requests. In a letter to state school officials, she wrote, "Extending deadlines for COVID-related grants, which are in fact taxpayer funds, years after the COVID pandemic ended, is not consistent with the Department’s priorities and thus not a worthwhile exercise of its discretion."

April 4: California challenges Trump’s order to gut Congressionally-established agencies, including the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Minority Business Development Agency, and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

Trump's directive calls for shrinking the agencies to their statutory minimums, but the state argues the directive is unlawful because the administration "cannot undo the many acts of Congress that authorize these agencies, dictate their responsibilities, and appropriate funds for the agencies to administer."

A Trump administration official told Politico, "This restructure is a necessary step to ... ensure hard-earned tax dollars are not diverted to discriminatory DEI initiatives or divisive, anti-American programming in our cultural institutions."

Bonta says, “The Trump Administration is once again violating the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law by attempting to unilaterally shut down agencies the President doesn’t like ... ."

The state attorney general claims Trump's directive negatively impacts libraries, museums and zoos across California.

For example, this year's California State Library budget included $15.7 million in Institute of Museum and Library Services funding. If Trump's order stands, all library functions and staff positions funded by IMLS will cease to exist, according to Bonta.

The Trump administration's actions also threaten grants that support California's museums and zoos, Bonta said.

April 4: California sues the Trump administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the National Institutes of Health for axing grants tied to medical and public health research institutions.

Bonta claims the nationwide federal funding threat has chilled biomedical research at California universities.

"In California, NIH funding creates over 50,000 jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity," Bonta said. "Over the decades, this funding has brought humanity the eradication of polio, discovery of the gene that causes breast and ovarian cancer, and the transformation of HIV from a fatal disease into one people can live with. Gutting NIH funding is a deep loss to innovation and progress built upon for decades — and it’s illegal."

The lawsuit argues that the Trump administration’s actions are arbitrary and capricious, and that the administration lacks the authority to unilaterally halt congressionally appropriated funds.

April 3: California sues the Trump administration's effort to impose sweeping voting restrictions across the country.

The state argues the president has no constitutional power to rewrite state election laws, nor does the president have the authority to modify the rules Congress has created for elections.

The president's executive order does many things, including requiring documentary proof of citizenship on the federal voter registration form; requiring military and overseas voters to submit documentary proof of citizenship and eligibility to vote in state elections; and requiring states to begin assessing citizenship prior to providing a federal voter registration form to enrollees of public assistance programs. The order also states that absentee or mail-in ballots received after Election Day should not be counted even if they are postmarked on or before Election Day.

The order threatens to withhold federal funding if states don't comply with the mandates.

The court is considering whether California’s lawsuit should be consolidated with similar suits brought in the District of Columbia, where judges have already blocked parts of Trump’s order.

April 1: California sues the administration over what it claims is the "unlawful termination of $11 billion in critical public health funding."

On March 24, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services abruptly announced the end of federal funding for many public health grants.

The funding was appropriated by Congress in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The money is intended to ensure that the U.S. is better prepared for future public health threats. Uses include identifying, tracking, and addressing infectious diseases, as well as ensuring access to immunizations and modernizing public health infrastructure.

California stands to lose more than $972 million from the grant cancellations, Bonta says.

A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration's move while the litigation plays out.

March 13: California Attorney General Rob Bonta files a lawsuit challenging the mass firing of nearly half of the employees at the U.S. Department of Education.

Trump has made no secret of his desire to shut down the Department of Education, but Bonta argues the president cannot undo the agency because it was created by Congress.

The mass firings violate the separation of powers and the Executive Branch’s obligation to take care that the law is faithfully executed, the complaint alleges.

The Trump administration has argued that the lawsuit lacks merit.

March 6: California challenges the Trump administration’s cancellation of grant funding for K-12 teacher preparation programs.

In February, California institutions received letters from the administration announcing it was cutting federal grants designed to tackle the state's teacher shortage.

California stands to lose $148 million targeted for teacher preparation programs, Bonta said.

"These programs are designed to create a pipeline for teachers serving rural and urban communities and teaching harder-to-fill positions like math and science and have been shown to increase teacher retention rates and ensure that educators remain in the profession beyond the crucial first five years," according to the state.

Because the notices were allegedly issued without prior notice and took effect immediately, the state argues that the administration's maneuver violated the Administrative Procedure Act and is therefore illegal.

A restraining order sought by the state and granted by a district court judge was reversed by a higher court. The case continues to play out.

March 6: California Attorney General Rob Bonta files a lawsuit challenging numerous federal agencies for conducting what the state termed an "illegal mass firing of federal probationary employees."

In California, numerous federal employees serve in critical roles across key agencies, including the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Agriculture, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Forest Service, among others.

A restraining order sought by the state and granted by a district court judge was reversed by a higher court. The case continues to play out.

Feb. 13: California Attorney General Rob Bonta files a lawsuit challenging Elon Musk’s exercise of power.

The state argues that Musk is an unconfirmed, unelected government employee who is exercising sweeping authority that exceeds what the U.S. Constitution permits.

As the DOGE lead, "Musk is acting with at least as much authority as a principal officer of the United States — a position that only Congress can create and one that requires Senate confirmation," the suit alleges.

By acting as a “principal officer,” Musk is in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Appointments Clause, according to Bonta.

The state was denied an emergency order to block the billionaire's power inside the federal government, but the litigation continues.

Feb. 10: California sues the Trump administration for what it calls "unlawfully decimating funds that support cutting-edge medical and public health research at universities and research institutions across the country."

The lawsuit challenges the administration’s attempt to cut “indirect cost” reimbursements at research institutions throughout the country, including at University of California and California State University campuses.

The "indirect" reimbursements fund research at the nation’s universities, cancer centers and hospitals. The exact dollars are based on each institution’s needs, negotiated with the federal government through a regulated process, and then memorialized in an executed agreement.

The Trump administration's directive aims to reduce funding for indirect costs to a fixed 15 percent rate, which it says would save about $4 billion per year.

The rate cuts, however, would likely create sizable budget gaps for the country's research projects.

A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to hold off on the plan. The administration said it is appealing the ruling.

Feb. 7: Attorney General Rob Bonta sues the Trump administration over DOGE’s access to Americans’ personal information.

The state argues that the executive action has allowed people associated with the Department of Government Efficiency to access Americans’ personal and private information, including bank accounts and social security numbers.

The lawsuit sought to immediately halt access while litigation proceeds.

California won a court order blocking DOGE employees from accessing sensitive Treasury Department data, though that order has since been modified to grant access for one specific DOGE employee.

The Treasury Department's systems are responsible for trillions of dollars in U.S. government payments, including Social Security, Medicare benefits, veterans’ benefits, federal employee salaries, tax refunds, and services such as healthcare, childcare, and other programs.

Jan. 28: California sues to block the Trump administration's freeze on $3 trillion in federal assistance funding.

One of California's most pressing concerns about the freeze was the uncertainty around continued disbursement of FEMA funding to support recovery from January's deadly Los Angeles wildfires that caused an estimated $150 billion in economic losses.

Trump rescinded his freeze directive following significant pushback, including from some Republican lawmakers. By March, two judges had separately blocked the order.

Earlier this month, Attorney General Bonta secured a court order against the Trump administration over its FEMA funding disruptions.

Jan. 21: Attorney General Rob Bonta sues the Trump administration over the president's birthright citizenship order.

Under the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, all children born on U.S. soil are automatically granted U.S. citizenship and the rights and privileges that come with it.

In 1898, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the right.

The state argues that Trump’s executive order violates the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Section 1401 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and should be immediately blocked from going into effect while litigation proceeds.

California has successfully blocked the Trump order for now.