A coalition of plaintiffs represented by Altshuler Berzon LLP and co-lead counsel Democracy Forward, as well as by co-counsel Protect Democracy, the Public Rights Project, and State Democracy Defenders Fund, united to file a challenge to the Trump administration’s reorganization of the federal government through Executive Order 14210 (Feb. 13, 2025). The lawsuit, filed on Monday, April 28, 2025 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that President Trump’s efforts to remake the government without Congressional approval violate the Constitution’s fundamental separation of powers principles. The lawsuit further alleges that the actions of agencies carrying out his orders—including, among others, the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Personnel Management, and the newly created Department of Government Efficiency—are ultra vires and/or violate substantive and procedural requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act.
On Thursday, May 1, the coalition filed a motion for a Temporary Restraining Order to stop implementation of Executive Order 14210, including halting any further cuts to seventeen defendant agencies’ programs or workforces, pending further litigation in the case.
The full list of plaintiffs in this case is: the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and four AFGE locals; American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME); Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and SEIU Local 1000; Alliance for Retired Americans, American Geophysical Union; American Public Health Association; Center for Taxpayer Rights; Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks; Common Defense; Main Street Alliance; NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council); Northeast Organic Farming Association Inc.; VoteVets; Western Watersheds Project; City and County of San Francisco, California; County of Santa Clara, California; City of Chicago, Illinois; City of Baltimore, Maryland; Harris County, Texas; and King County, Washington.
A copy of the complaint is available here
A copy of the Motion for TRO is available here
A press release is available here