These Are the Federal Judges Thwarting Donald Trump

Dozens of federal judges across the country are blocking parts of President Donald Trump's agenda from going into effect.

Why It Matters

Trump has issued 89 executive orders since returning to the White House in January to implement a wide-reaching conservative agenda on issues including the economy, transgender rights and the firing of federal workers.

But many of these orders face legal challenges, with critics arguing the orders go too far in expanding his executive authority and violate the United States Constitution. Judges in several cases have issued orders blocking these policies from taking effect, blocking his agenda from going into effect, at least for the time being.

Newsweek reached out to the White House via email for comment.

What To Know

These judges are increasingly being scrutinized by conservatives, who are calling for their impeachment for blocking Trump's agenda. Others, however, note that judges can block laws or orders that violate the Constitution.

Here is a look at the judges who have thwarted Trump so far:

Brendan Hurson

Hurson, a judge on the U.S. District Court for Maryland, has blocked the Trump administration from cutting federal funds to hospitals that provide gender-affirming health care to transgender youth, writing in February that a challenge to his order is likely to succeed.

Adam Abelson

In February, Abelson, a U.S. District Court for Maryland judge, granted a preliminary injunction blocking parts of an executive order banning diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs within the federal government. He ruled that Trump's order was excessively vague and that agencies had "no reasonable way to know what, if anything, they can do to bring their grants into compliance."

However, an appeals court has since lifted that injunction.

Amir Ali

Ali, who serves on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, placed a temporary injunction on Trump's attempts to dismantle the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

In his ruling, he wrote that the Trump administration had not offered an explanation "for why a blanket suspension of all congressionally appropriated foreign aid, which set off a shock wave and upended reliance interests for thousands of agreements with businesses, nonprofits, and organizations around the country, was a rational precursor to reviewing programs."

Loren AliKhan

AliKhan, who serves on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, paused Trump's attempts to freeze federal grants and loans in January. On February 25, she placed a preliminary injunction on the order, describing it as "ill-conceived from the beginning."

William Alsup

Alsup, a judge on the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California, earlier in March ordered six departments—Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Interior, Treasury and Veterans Affairs—to offer reinstatement to probationary employees who were fired.

John Bates

Bates, who serves on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, ordered health agencies to restore webpages that included information about transgender health care from their websites. That information was previously taken down to comply with an order about "gender ideology."

He is among the judges facing impeachment efforts over the ruling.

Amy Berman Jackson

Jackson, a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, temporarily reinstated special counsel Hampton Dellinger, who the Trump administration fired, but an appeals court overruled her.

She also halted efforts to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and is now weighing whether to impose a temporary injunction on the order.

Deborah Boardman

Boardman, on the U.S. District Court for Maryland, placed an injunction on Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship. The order sparked questions about whether a president can do so or whether such action would require a constitutional amendment.

James Bredar

Boardman, also serving on the U.S. District Court for Maryland, blocked Trump from firing probationary employees at 18 federal agencies earlier in March.

James Boasberg

Boasberg ruled against Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport some undocumented immigrants allegedly associated with a Venezuelan gang without due process.

The order, handed down on Saturday, required deportations to be halted for at least 14 days and for flights that had already left to be turned around.

Following the ruling, Trump called for his impeachment in a Truth Social post, sparking a rebuke from Supreme Court Justice John Roberts.

Theodore Chuang

In February, Chaung, a judge on the U.S. District Court for Maryland, blocked immigration raids from taking place at houses of worship.

On Tuesday, he ruled that the Department of Government Efficiency likely violated the Constitution in multiple ways by dismantling USAID.

Chuang added that DOGE's actions "harmed not only Plaintiffs, but also the public interest, because they deprived the public's elected representatives in Congress of their constitutional authority to decide whether, when, and how to close down an agency created by Congress."

Jia Cobb

Cobb, a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, temporarily halted the Justice Department from releasing a list of FBI agents who were involved in investigations into the riot at the U.S. Capitol. On January 6, 2021, a group of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building to protest the 2020 presidential election results.

Rudolph Contreras

On March 4, Contreras ruled that Trump's firing of Cathy Harris, who served on the Merit Systems Protection Board, was illegal. On Tuesday, a DOJ attorney asked an appeals court to suspend this order, the Associated Press reported.

John Coughenour

U.S. District Judge John Coughenour in Seattle blocked Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship, arguing it is "blatantly unconstitutional."

"I've been on the bench for over four decades," he said. "I can't remember another case where the question presented is as clear as this one."

Jesse Furman

Furman, a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, last week halted the deportation of Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil, who was arrested for his role in pro-Palestinian protests.

On Tuesday, Furman ruled that Khalil could challenge the legality of his detention but decided the case should be heard in New Jersey since that was where he was first detained.

Beryl Howell

Howell, who serves on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, has ruled against two Trump orders. First, she blocked his effort to oust a member of the National Labor Relations Board, which critics say is supposed to be independent from the executive.

Last week, she temporarily blocked an order to remove security credentials from Perkins Coie, which worked with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign in 2016.

Angel Kelley

Kelley, a federal judge in Boston, temporarily blocked efforts to cut $4 billion in funding for health research grants in 22 states that filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration and the National Institutes of Health.

Lauren King

King, a district court judge in western Washington, imposed a preliminary injunction on Trump's executive order that blocked Trump's order pulling federal funds for hospitals that deliver gender-affirming care to minors.

She wrote that the order "oversteps the President's authority under the separation of powers."

Royce Lamberth

Lamberth, a Reagan-appointed judge in D.C., temporarily blocked an order requiring prison officials to transfer transgender women to men's facilities and terminating their access to hormone therapy.

In his ruling, he wrote that the government didn't dispute the plaintiff's argument that those inmates would be at a higher risk of physical and sexual violence if they were to be transferred.

Joseph Laplante

Laplante, a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire, was the third judge who blocked Trump's order ending birthright citizenship.

John McConnell

McConnell, a federal judge in Rhode Island, ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze federal spending and later found that the administration had not complied with his order.

Representative Andrew Clyde, a Georgia Republican, introduced articles of impeachment against him.

George O'Toole Jr.

O'Toole, a federal judge in Massachusetts, blocked the transfer of a transgender woman to a men's prison in February.

Julie Rubin

Rubin, a district judge in Maryland, ordered the Trump administration to restore some education grants that had been terminated as part of its efforts to end diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Ana Reyes

On Tuesday, Reyes, a district court judge in D.C., blocked an executive order banning transgender individuals from serving in the U.S. military, ruling that it likely violates those troops' constitutional rights.

"Indeed, the cruel irony is that thousands of transgender servicemembers have sacrificed—some risking their lives—to ensure for others the very equal protection rights the Military Ban seeks to deny them. On the latter, Defendants have not shown they will be burdened by continuing the status quo pending this litigation, and avoiding constitutional violations is always in the public interest," she wrote in the order.

Sparkle Sooknanan

Sooknanan, a district court judge in D.C., ruled on March 12 that Trump's firing of Susan Tsui Grundmann, a Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) member, was unconstitutional and ordered that she be reinstated.

Leo Sorokin

Sorokin, a federal judge in Massachusetts, has also ruled against Trump's birthright citizenship order.

Jeannette Vargas

Vargas, a federal judge in New York, blocked DOGE from accessing Treasury Department systems that handled sensitive payment information.

Jamal Whitehead

In February, Whitehead, a judge in Washington state, temporarily blocked Trump's ban on people claiming asylum along the southern border.

What People Are Saying

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt: "The judges in this country are acting erroneously. We have judges who are acting as partisan activists from the bench. They are trying to dictate policy from the president of the United States. They are trying to clearly slow walk this administration's agenda, and it's unacceptable."

Conservative radio host Erick Erickson, in his newsletter: "There's a growing movement among federal judges to make political rulings that blatantly overstep their jurisdiction. While conservative judges have been guilty of this in the past, it's increasingly a common trend among progressive judges ruling against Donald Trump. The ruling against deported gang members as they were about to land in El Salvador is just the latest example. Trump is gearing up to fight this and he should."

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, in a statement: "For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose."

What Happens Next

These legal battles are expected to continue over the coming weeks and months.