The Trump administration is planning to abandon its effort to punish several law firms that hired President Donald Trump’s perceived foes or took on cases he disliked, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The move would effectively admit defeat and leave Trump’s sanctions on the firms blocked by judges.
According to the two people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter on the record, the administration plans to drop its appeals of court cases that last year struck down Trump’s efforts. One of the people said the move to drop the appeals could come as early as Monday.
Trump last year issued executive orders targeting multiple law firms, saying they should lose government contracts and their employees must be blocked from government buildings and excluded from government jobs.
His actions sparked immense upheaval within the legal industry. Nine law firms reached agreements with Trump to avoid similar penalties, leading some of their attorneys to quit in protest and enraging many others across the profession.
Four other firms sued to challenge Trump’s actions after he took aim at them. Judges sided with all four — WilmerHale, Jenner & Block, Perkins Coie and Susman Godfrey — lambasting his executive orders as unconstitutional and retaliatory.
The Trump administration criticized those rulings, calling them “erroneous” and defending the executive orders as lawful, and had appealed in all four cases.
The Wall Street Journal first reported Monday that the administration planned to drop the appeals.
Until the paperwork is submitted, however, it remains possible that the administration could reverse course and opt to continue defending the executive orders. Legal experts have expressed deep skepticism of the executive orders, with some saying they doubted appeals would be successful.
The Trump administration faces a looming deadline in the appeal cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The Justice Department’s opening brief in the case is due by Friday, while the four law firms’ briefs are due at the end of the month.
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