By Liz Nass
Gongwer News Service
Since the day after President Donald Trump took office, Attorney General Dana Nessel has filed 17 lawsuits along with other state coalitions and attorneys general against executive actions from his administration.
These lawsuits from Nessel and other Democratic attorneys general across the nation highlight one of the only concrete ways states and officials opposing the Trump administration can stop Trump administration actions.
Almost all the lawsuits are seeing movement in the courts, and the Trump administration has rescinded some of its action prior to a court ruling. Nessel says the lawsuits filed have recouped more than $750 million in funding for projects in Michigan, from $100 million in FEMA funds to $25 million in funding to the Department of Education to $226 million in university research funding.
Nessel also said her lawsuits saved $27 million in federal funding for programs in the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the sea lamprey program in the Great Lakes and $379 million in grant funding to the state for various health programs such as mental health and substance abuse treatment, infectious disease control and vaccination programs.
Nessel has created a tracker to monitor the litigation.
Only two of the lawsuits are resolved due to the administration rescinding orders before a judge could rule. However, appeals against actions are in the works.
One of these lawsuits is Massachusetts v. NIH, filed on February 10, where Michigan co-led a coalition of 21 states to challenge a decision to cut billions in medical research funding from the National Institutes of Health. While a federal court issued a preliminary injunction blocking this cut, the NIH rescinded a memo implementing the plan to eliminate these funds. On April 8, the government appealed this decision to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Another is Colorado v. DHHS, filed on April 1, in which Michigan and a coalition of 23 states filed a challenge to the Department of Health and Human Services for terminating $11 billion in public health grants across the nation. While a temporary restraining order was issued and a hearing for a preliminary injunction was held on April 17, DHHS rescinded the terminations before a judge could rule on the injunction.
A preliminary injunction was still issued on May 16.
The lawsuit filed on January 28, New York et al. v. Donald Trump, involving wide swaths of federal funds, has so far seen Nessel and the other attorneys general prevail.
Michigan and 21 other states challenged the pause of disbursements of almost all federal funding to states. The Trump administration has since released a frozen pool of FEMA funds that was part of this case.
Currently, the preliminary injunction and order requiring FEMA to comply with the courts are on appeal from the federal government to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The first lawsuit filed by Nessel moved all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court for arguments.
New Jersey v. Donald Trump, filed on January 21, challenged the executive order that excluded certain individuals from birthright citizenship, alleging a violation of the 14th Amendment. The case in district court was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court on March 13 after four federal judges blocked the executive order. After the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene, arguments took place May 15.
One of the cases, New Mexico v. Musk, filed on February 13, focused not on Trump but instead one of his now former top aides. Michigan co-led the suit with 13 other states to challenge Elon Musk’s authority to exercise power on the federal government, allegedly violating the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution, requiring that federal officers need to be appointed to offices created by Congress and confirmed by the Senate.
A temporary restraining order was denied only five days after the suit was filed. While the states requested an expedited discovery, the Department of Justice filed to dismiss the case. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia kept the district court’s opinion for expedited discovery on March 26.
On May 27, the court granted in part and denied in part the department’s motion to dismiss.
In Maryland v. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Michigan and 19 other states challenged Trump’s firing of government employees and violations of multiple federal laws that require reimbursement to states for some of the costs of running unemployment programs. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay on April 9 on the preliminary injunction order. The parties will be gathering evidence on the merits of the appeal and oral arguments were scheduled to start on May 6.
A stay on this case was granted on May 23 with a pending appeal on the preliminary injunction.
In several other cases, a preliminary injunction has been issued:
• In New York v. McMahon, filed on March 13, Michigan and 19 other states are challenging Trump’s dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education for violations of the U.S. Constitution, separation of powers and federal law. The preliminary injunction hearing was on April 25 and issued on May 22. The Department of Justice appealed and requested a stay on the injunction before the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
• In Rhode Island v. Trump, filed on April 4, Michigan and 19 other states filed a challenge on Trump’s dismantling of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Minority Business Development Agency and Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. The court granted states a motion for a preliminary injunction on May 6 and it was issued on May 13. The Department of Justice appealed and requested a stay for the injunction before the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
• In New York v. Department of Education, filed on April 10, Michigan and 15 other states challenged the defendants for rescinding the extended deadline for states and local school districts to use pandemic relief funds appropriated by Congress. The preliminary injunction was issued on May 6, blocking the first attempt to rescind the deadline to spend the funds. When the department attempted to again rescind the deadline, the court issued a temporary restraining order on May 21 and scheduled a hearing for June 3 if a second preliminary injunction.
Other lawsuits Nessel is involved in include:
• New York v. Department of Education was filed on April 25. Nessel and 19 other attorneys general are challenging the department’s threat to withhold federal funding from state and local agencies refusing to abandon DEI-related programs.
• Washington v. Trump was filed on May 9. Michigan and 15 states are challenging Trump’s declaration of an energy emergency, alleging his administration is illegally using emergency authorities for non-emergency projects to keep the nation reliant on coal, oil and gas, but excluding wind, solar and batteries. The lawsuit cites the emergency measures that bypass proper permitting procedures for projects like these.
• California v. Trump, filed on April 3, Michigan and 19 other states are opposing voting restrictions outlined in an executive order that would impose more requirements to prove citizenship. The Department of Justice filed a motion on April 23 to transfer the case to the U.S. District Court in D.C. and consolidate the case with three similar cases or stay the case. The states filed a motion for a preliminary injunction on May 5, and are set for a hearing on June 6.
• Maryland v. AmeriCorps, filed on April 2, Michigan and 15 other states challenged Trump’s dismantling of AmeriCorps through an 85 percent reduction of its workforce. The motion for a preliminary injunction was heard on May 19 and is pending.
• New York v. Kennedy, filed on May 5, Michigan and 20 other states are filing against DHHS for the reorganization of the department, turning 28 agencies into 15 and cutting 10,000 full-time employees. The motion for a preliminary injunction from the states was heard on May 20 and is pending.
• New York v. Trump, filed on May 5, Michigan and 18 states challenged the freeze on the development of wind energy. The states made a motion for a preliminary injunction on May 12, and a hearing is scheduled for June 4.
• Illinois v. FEMA, filed on May 13, Nessel and 19 other attorneys general challenged attempts from the departments to coerce states into immigration enforcement by threatening to withhold billions in federal funding. The states claim this order is unconstitutional because Congress appropriated billions to aid FEMA in helping states recover from catastrophic disasters instead of immigration oversight. The states moved for a preliminary injunction on May 19, and the hearing is scheduled for June 17.
• California v. US Department of Transportation, also filed on May 13, the case also challenged federal funding for immigration enforcement in the same plaintiff states, but on the Department of Transportation funds being used for enforcement. The states made a motion for a preliminary injunction on May 22, and a hearing is scheduled for June 17.
Gongwer News Service
Since the day after President Donald Trump took office, Attorney General Dana Nessel has filed 17 lawsuits along with other state coalitions and attorneys general against executive actions from his administration.
These lawsuits from Nessel and other Democratic attorneys general across the nation highlight one of the only concrete ways states and officials opposing the Trump administration can stop Trump administration actions.
Almost all the lawsuits are seeing movement in the courts, and the Trump administration has rescinded some of its action prior to a court ruling. Nessel says the lawsuits filed have recouped more than $750 million in funding for projects in Michigan, from $100 million in FEMA funds to $25 million in funding to the Department of Education to $226 million in university research funding.
Nessel also said her lawsuits saved $27 million in federal funding for programs in the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the sea lamprey program in the Great Lakes and $379 million in grant funding to the state for various health programs such as mental health and substance abuse treatment, infectious disease control and vaccination programs.
Nessel has created a tracker to monitor the litigation.
Only two of the lawsuits are resolved due to the administration rescinding orders before a judge could rule. However, appeals against actions are in the works.
One of these lawsuits is Massachusetts v. NIH, filed on February 10, where Michigan co-led a coalition of 21 states to challenge a decision to cut billions in medical research funding from the National Institutes of Health. While a federal court issued a preliminary injunction blocking this cut, the NIH rescinded a memo implementing the plan to eliminate these funds. On April 8, the government appealed this decision to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Another is Colorado v. DHHS, filed on April 1, in which Michigan and a coalition of 23 states filed a challenge to the Department of Health and Human Services for terminating $11 billion in public health grants across the nation. While a temporary restraining order was issued and a hearing for a preliminary injunction was held on April 17, DHHS rescinded the terminations before a judge could rule on the injunction.
A preliminary injunction was still issued on May 16.
The lawsuit filed on January 28, New York et al. v. Donald Trump, involving wide swaths of federal funds, has so far seen Nessel and the other attorneys general prevail.
Michigan and 21 other states challenged the pause of disbursements of almost all federal funding to states. The Trump administration has since released a frozen pool of FEMA funds that was part of this case.
Currently, the preliminary injunction and order requiring FEMA to comply with the courts are on appeal from the federal government to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The first lawsuit filed by Nessel moved all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court for arguments.
New Jersey v. Donald Trump, filed on January 21, challenged the executive order that excluded certain individuals from birthright citizenship, alleging a violation of the 14th Amendment. The case in district court was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court on March 13 after four federal judges blocked the executive order. After the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene, arguments took place May 15.
One of the cases, New Mexico v. Musk, filed on February 13, focused not on Trump but instead one of his now former top aides. Michigan co-led the suit with 13 other states to challenge Elon Musk’s authority to exercise power on the federal government, allegedly violating the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution, requiring that federal officers need to be appointed to offices created by Congress and confirmed by the Senate.
A temporary restraining order was denied only five days after the suit was filed. While the states requested an expedited discovery, the Department of Justice filed to dismiss the case. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia kept the district court’s opinion for expedited discovery on March 26.
On May 27, the court granted in part and denied in part the department’s motion to dismiss.
In Maryland v. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Michigan and 19 other states challenged Trump’s firing of government employees and violations of multiple federal laws that require reimbursement to states for some of the costs of running unemployment programs. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay on April 9 on the preliminary injunction order. The parties will be gathering evidence on the merits of the appeal and oral arguments were scheduled to start on May 6.
A stay on this case was granted on May 23 with a pending appeal on the preliminary injunction.
In several other cases, a preliminary injunction has been issued:
• In New York v. McMahon, filed on March 13, Michigan and 19 other states are challenging Trump’s dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education for violations of the U.S. Constitution, separation of powers and federal law. The preliminary injunction hearing was on April 25 and issued on May 22. The Department of Justice appealed and requested a stay on the injunction before the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
• In Rhode Island v. Trump, filed on April 4, Michigan and 19 other states filed a challenge on Trump’s dismantling of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Minority Business Development Agency and Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. The court granted states a motion for a preliminary injunction on May 6 and it was issued on May 13. The Department of Justice appealed and requested a stay for the injunction before the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
• In New York v. Department of Education, filed on April 10, Michigan and 15 other states challenged the defendants for rescinding the extended deadline for states and local school districts to use pandemic relief funds appropriated by Congress. The preliminary injunction was issued on May 6, blocking the first attempt to rescind the deadline to spend the funds. When the department attempted to again rescind the deadline, the court issued a temporary restraining order on May 21 and scheduled a hearing for June 3 if a second preliminary injunction.
Other lawsuits Nessel is involved in include:
• New York v. Department of Education was filed on April 25. Nessel and 19 other attorneys general are challenging the department’s threat to withhold federal funding from state and local agencies refusing to abandon DEI-related programs.
• Washington v. Trump was filed on May 9. Michigan and 15 states are challenging Trump’s declaration of an energy emergency, alleging his administration is illegally using emergency authorities for non-emergency projects to keep the nation reliant on coal, oil and gas, but excluding wind, solar and batteries. The lawsuit cites the emergency measures that bypass proper permitting procedures for projects like these.
• California v. Trump, filed on April 3, Michigan and 19 other states are opposing voting restrictions outlined in an executive order that would impose more requirements to prove citizenship. The Department of Justice filed a motion on April 23 to transfer the case to the U.S. District Court in D.C. and consolidate the case with three similar cases or stay the case. The states filed a motion for a preliminary injunction on May 5, and are set for a hearing on June 6.
• Maryland v. AmeriCorps, filed on April 2, Michigan and 15 other states challenged Trump’s dismantling of AmeriCorps through an 85 percent reduction of its workforce. The motion for a preliminary injunction was heard on May 19 and is pending.
• New York v. Kennedy, filed on May 5, Michigan and 20 other states are filing against DHHS for the reorganization of the department, turning 28 agencies into 15 and cutting 10,000 full-time employees. The motion for a preliminary injunction from the states was heard on May 20 and is pending.
• New York v. Trump, filed on May 5, Michigan and 18 states challenged the freeze on the development of wind energy. The states made a motion for a preliminary injunction on May 12, and a hearing is scheduled for June 4.
• Illinois v. FEMA, filed on May 13, Nessel and 19 other attorneys general challenged attempts from the departments to coerce states into immigration enforcement by threatening to withhold billions in federal funding. The states claim this order is unconstitutional because Congress appropriated billions to aid FEMA in helping states recover from catastrophic disasters instead of immigration oversight. The states moved for a preliminary injunction on May 19, and the hearing is scheduled for June 17.
• California v. US Department of Transportation, also filed on May 13, the case also challenged federal funding for immigration enforcement in the same plaintiff states, but on the Department of Transportation funds being used for enforcement. The states made a motion for a preliminary injunction on May 22, and a hearing is scheduled for June 17.
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