In less than a month of his administration, American President Donald Trump has already signed dozens of executive measures to enforce his campaign agenda. The power to govern through executive orders is constantly used by governments, whether Republican or Democrat.
But critics believe that Donald Trump is going too far, wanting to legislate or bypass legislation with just a signature. Remember that the U.S. is a federation governed by three powers that aim to balance each other, and it is up to the legislative power, namely the U.S. Congress, to create laws, not the executive.
Thus, dozens of lawsuits have already been filed to try to prevent some of President Trump’s executive orders from taking effect. Here is a brief summary.
Immigration
Trump’s government’s crackdown on immigration—both legal and illegal—has resulted in at least 10 lawsuits, seven of which challenge his order to revoke universal birthright citizenship.
So far, the judges hearing these cases have been skeptical of Trump’s actions, issuing three preliminary injunctions that froze the president’s order.
The other lawsuits against the president’s immigration policies involve: (1) the authority of immigration agents to enter places of worship; (2) a memorandum that accelerates and expands the scope of deportations; and (3) an order that makes it harder for refugees to apply for asylum in the United States.
On Friday, San Francisco and other cities filed lawsuits to block an executive order that would withhold federal funds from cities that do not assist in enforcing the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
USAID and Federal Layoffs
Trump’s attempt to freeze up to $3 trillion in federal aid has floundered in two cases, one filed by a group of nonprofit organizations and another by a group of 22 state attorneys general. A government effort to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is also at least partially suspended.
The government’s “Fork in the Road” offer, emailed to about two million federal employees encouraging them to resign, has been blocked, for now, by a judge in Massachusetts.
Three lawsuits challenge Trump’s effort to reform the civil service, stripping job protections from tens of thousands of employees and giving the White House unilateral firing authority if they fail to “faithfully implement the administration’s policies.”
There is also another lawsuit to prevent Elon Musk’s team from accessing confidential data at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Transgender Rights
Two lawsuits challenge a Trump administration effort to force the transfer of transgender women in federal prisons to male housing and deny them gender transition medical assistance. One of these lawsuits led to a restraining order that temporarily prevents the new policy from being implemented.
Of more than 150,000 federal inmates, fewer than 50 are transgender women housed in female facilities, according to a government official.
Other lawsuits address Trump’s attempts to ban transgender individuals from serving in the military, deny federal funding to hospitals that provide gender transition assistance to individuals under 19 years old, and prevent transgender individuals from having their identities reflected in their U.S. passports.
No matter the initial decisions of the judges in all these cases, it is likely that they will be appealed, and some will reach the Supreme Court in the coming months. In other words, the Supreme Court justices should prepare themselves. They will have a lot of work ahead and could indeed change the trajectory of the country.
Source: The New York Times