The Trump administration finds itself in the crosshairs of a lawsuit filed by the left-leaning law firm, Susman Godfrey LLP. This firm, known for its substantial $787.5 million defamation settlement win against Fox News for Dominion Voting Systems, is now targeting President Trump and a host of federal agencies. Their lawsuit is a direct response to a recent executive order that aims to curb the firm’s political legal activism.
Based out of Houston, Susman Godfrey LLP has filed a comprehensive 66-page lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The firm claims the executive order is unconstitutional, labeling it as “retaliation” against their defense of the 2020 election’s integrity. The lawsuit alleges infringements on the First and Fifth Amendments and raises concerns about the separation of powers.
“The President is abusing the powers of his office to wield the might of the Executive Branch in retaliation against organizations and people that he dislikes,” the filing states. “Nothing in our Constitution or laws grants a President such power; to the contrary, the specific provisions and overall design of our Constitution were adopted in large measure to ensure that presidents cannot exercise arbitrary, absolute power in the way that the President seeks to do in these Executive Orders.”
The lawsuit further claims that the Executive Order explicitly aims to penalize Susman Godfrey for its role in defending the 2020 presidential election’s integrity. It accuses President Trump of launching an unconstitutional offensive against foundational principles and the independence of the legal profession.
Here are the agencies and offices named as defendants in the lawsuit:
- Executive Office of the President
- U.S. Department of Justice
- Office of Management and Budget
- Securities and Exchange Commission
- United States International Trade Commission
- Federal Trade Commission
- United States Patent and Trademark Office
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- Department of the Treasury
- U.S. Department of Defense
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- U.S. Department of Education
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- Office of the Director of National Intelligence
- Central Intelligence Agency
- Environmental Protection Agency
- Department of Homeland Security
- Department of State
- Department of Energy
- Department of Labor
- Department of Agriculture
- Department of Commerce
- Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Small Business Administration
- Office of the United States Trade Representative
- Department of the Interior
- Department of Transportation
- The United States of America
Included in the list of individual defendants (in their official capacities) are:
- Pamela J. Bondi – Attorney General of the United States
- Russell T. Vought – Director, Office of Management and Budget
- Mark T. Uyeda – Acting Chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission
- Amy A. Karpel – Chair, U.S. International Trade Commission
- Andrew N. Ferguson – Chairman, Federal Trade Commission
- Coke Morgan Stewart – Acting Director, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
- Andrea R. Lucas – Acting Chair, EEOC
- Scott Bessent – Secretary of the Treasury
- Peter B. Hegseth – Secretary of Defense
- Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. – Secretary of Health and Human Services
- Linda M. McMahon – Secretary of Education
- Douglas A. Collins – Secretary of Veterans Affairs
- Tulsi Gabbard – Director of National Intelligence
- John L. Ratcliffe – Director, Central Intelligence Agency
- Lee M. Zeldin – Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency
- Kristi Noem – Secretary of Homeland Security
- Marco Rubio – Secretary of State
- Chris Wright – Secretary of Energy
- Lori Chavez-DeRemer – Secretary of Labor
- Brooke L. Rollins – Secretary of Agriculture
- Howard Lutnick – Secretary of Commerce
- Scott Turner – Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
- Kelly Loeffler – Administrator, Small Business Administration
- Jamieson Greer – U.S. Trade Representative
- Doug Burgum – Secretary of the Interior
- Sean Duffy – Secretary of Transportation
President Trump has countered with a new executive order that mandates a federal investigation into Susman Godfrey LLP. This directive, signed on Wednesday, calls for the Department of Justice, the Office of Management and Budget, and intelligence agencies to launch a comprehensive probe into Susman Godfrey, citing “egregious conduct” and “weaponization of the legal system.”
The six-part executive order outlines the administration’s stance:
- Section 1: Denounces the firm’s radical “diversity, equity, and inclusion” agenda, labeling such practices as “un-American and unlawful.”
- Section 2: Suspends security clearances for Susman employees and restricts their access to government resources.
- Section 3: Calls for a freeze and review of all federal contracts with Susman, pushing for cancellation where feasible.
- Section 4: Links the order to broader efforts to dismantle race-based hiring in federal contracts.
- Section 5: Bans Susman personnel from entering federal buildings or gaining U.S. government employment without high-level clearance.
- Section 6: Stresses that this order should align with national security interests and legal standards.
