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A day after abandoning efforts to enforce executive orders aimed at some of the world’s most elite law firms, President Donald Trump’s administration reversed course again and said it would continue a court fight, according to filings in Washington.
The legal dispute centers on executive orders that, as the firms described it, punished lawyers and firms associated with investigations and legal work the Trump administration opposed. The orders sought to suspend security clearances for attorneys at targeted firms, terminate federal contracts, and bar employees from federal buildings, while the firms said the measures violated the U.S. Constitution.
The government’s latest shift unfolded after judges who heard challenges to the executive orders ruled against the administration, setting off an appeal effort by the Justice Department. In a brief filed Monday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the Justice Department withdrew its appeal—ending enforcement efforts against the firms of Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, Susman Godfrey and WilmerHale.
Then on Tuesday, without providing an explanation in the court record as described in the filing coverage, the Justice Department submitted a new filing saying it was withdrawing its earlier motion and was no longer giving up the appeal. The filing said the appeals court had not yet granted the government’s motion to dismiss, and that the firms were therefore not harmed by the department’s change in position.
The Justice Department also said it had advised lawyers for the four firms about the change and that the firms objected. The White House referred questions about the reversal to the Justice Department, where a spokesperson declined to comment.
Perkins Coie said the Justice Department “offered no explanation to either the parties or the court for its reversal.” The firm said, “We remain committed to defending our firm, our people, and our clients.”
Susman Godfrey said in a statement that it “will defend itself and the rule of law — without equivocation.” It was among the firms the government had targeted with the executive orders, which they have described as an unconstitutional affront to the legal system.
Other major firms, seeking to avoid the orders, reached settlements that required them—among other obligations—to collectively dedicate hundreds of millions of dollars in free legal services to causes the Trump administration says it supports.
Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to the report.