RELEASE: In New Amicus Brief, Judiciary Democrats Stand Up Against Donald Trump’s Retaliatory Executive Orders Targeting Law Firms
Amicus Brief Defends Constitutional Separation of Powers and Rejects Trump Administration’s Unconstitutional Attempt to Punish Law Firms Standing Up to Executive Coercion
Washington, D.C. (April 2, 2026)—Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, led Judiciary Democrats in filing an amicus brief before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Perkins Coie LLP v. U.S. Department of Justice, urging the court to affirm that the Trump Administration’s retaliatory Executive Orders targeting law firms undermine the constitutional functions of both the judicial and legislative branches.
The brief challenges four Executive Orders designed to intimidate the legal profession from challenging the Trump Administration. Members argue that the unlawful orders violate our constitutional separation of powers.
“Donald Trump’s vindictive assault on the legal professionals upon whom Congress depends to vindicate and enforce the law strikes at the heart of the American constitutional order. By singling out a law firm and its clients for existential sanctions based solely on their lawful advocacy, the Administration is not merely targeting one institution—it is imperiling the independence of the entire legal profession and eroding the structural safeguards of our democracy. This is a direct affront to the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution and a chilling warning to lawyers across the country that zealous representation of disfavored clients or causes may invite retaliation by executive fiat,” said Ranking Member Jamie Raskin.
On March 6, 2025, Donald Trump signed an unprecedented Executive Order titled “Addressing Risks from Perkins Coie LLP,” explicitly denigrating one of the nation’s largest law firms. By unilaterally and baselessly accusing the firm of “dishonest and dangerous activity,” the President effectively placed Perkins Coie under a federal blockade. The Order immediately suspended security clearances for firm personnel and ordered federal agencies to dissolve all existing contracts with the firm. The President’s directive similarly barred firm employees from entering federal buildings and prohibited any engagement with government officials—effectively forcing the permanent closure of Perkins Coie via a calculated effort to dismantle the firm’s operations.
President Trump also signed three similar Executive Orders, also challenged in this consolidated appeal, that target other prominent firms for retribution based on previous representation of clients and causes disliked by the President, including Jenner & Block, WilmerHale, and Susman Godfrey.
All Judiciary Democrats joined today’s amicus brief in Perkins Coie LLP v. U.S. Department of Justice.
The full brief is available HERE.
For more information on House Democrats’ efforts to protect Americans against the unlawful actions of the Trump Administration, visit litigationandresponse.house.gov.