Democracy Forward

Rule Changes

Lead counsel in the Virginia case

The Trump administration dropped its $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund on June 1, less than two weeks after creating it. Three forces killed it: a court freeze in Alexandria, a Senate Republican revolt that stalled the reconciliation bill, and a meeting between House Speaker Mike Johnson and Trump. No claims were ever paid.

Updated Jun 2

Rule Changes

Representing plaintiffs in Widakuswara v. Lake

Voice of America broadcast continuously for more than 80 years through the Cold War, the Berlin Wall's fall, and two Iraq wars. In March 2025, the Trump administration placed virtually its entire workforce on leave, froze its website, and defunded every U.S.-backed international broadcaster, shutting down VOA for the first time in its history. One year later, Judge Royce Lamberth, a Ronald Reagan appointee, ordered 1,042 employees reinstated and broadcasting restored by March 23. He ruled that the administration had "provided nothing approaching a principled basis" for the shutdown and that the official who carried it out, Kari Lake, was never lawfully appointed.

Updated May 30

Rule Changes

Co-counsel in J.G.G. v. Trump

The Alien Enemies Act has been invoked only four times in American history—during the War of 1812, World War I, World War II, and now. In March 2025, President Trump became the first president to use the 1798 wartime statute outside of a declared war. He targeted alleged members of Venezuela's Tren de Aragua gang and sent 137 men to El Salvador's maximum-security CECOT prison within 24 hours.

Updated May 27

Rule Changes

Lead counsel for plaintiffs in SSA v. AFSCME

The Privacy Act of 1974 was written to prevent exactly this: government employees using federal databases containing Social Security numbers, health records, and bank account information for unauthorized purposes. Department of Government Efficiency staffers did it for nearly a year. They copied records of 300 million Americans to unsecured servers, shared files with outside political groups, and coordinated with election-denial activists to match voter rolls against Social Security data.

Updated May 22

Rule Changes

Counsel for a coalition of nonprofits and local governments challenging HUD changes

HUD tried to rewrite the rules of America's biggest homelessness grant program in the middle of the funding cycle. On December 19, after states and cities sued, Judge Mary McElroy told HUD: stop—effective immediately.

Updated May 15

Rule Changes

Counsel for a broad coalition challenging the fee in a separate case

The Trump administration imposed a $100,000 fee on new H‑1B visa petitions. Now twenty states are suing to overturn that fee in federal court, calling it an illegal end-run around Congress.

Updated May 15