On President’s Day Hilary and I held signs and chanted in front of the local courthouse. We knew the actual effect of our protests would be minimal. Crowd action can have some effect if the subject and target are right. But protests like ours on general topics (“Remove President Musk!” “Stop the steal!” “Send Musk to Mars”) are unlikely to have any real effect. But it felt good!
What will have an effect? In the long term there’s Congress, if it gets enough spine to split with Trump or if we can elect more Democrats in 2026. And our heavy correspondence with Senators and Representatives - lots of noise - can have a growing effect.
But until then, the much stronger weapons we’re counting on to protect America from the Trump rampage are the courts.
There’s a growing stream of legal actions against the Administration, and we can watch as they grow in number and progress through the justice system. It’s much too hard to scour the news to discover these lawsuits, but I have found a central database of them. It makes exciting reading. Case summaries tell us what’s at issue and where each process stands. We can find it at the Trump Administration Litigation Tracker. As we go to press it lists 74 suits against Trump illegal actions, including
freezing funds for climate protection projects already appropriated under the Inflation Reduction Act,
firing employees who have been doing their jobs,
revoking birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants,
slowing immigration arrests in places of worship, schools, and hospitals,
withholding federal funds from sanctuary cities,
barring gender affirming care to those under the age of 19,
limiting the reimbursement rate for ‘indirect costs’ of medical research to 15%, far below the actual costs,
dismissing of the Department of Justice Special Counsel and multiple Inspectors General,
terminating the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau,
defunding USAID and laying off or furloughing employees,
implementing the deferred resignation program calling on federal employees to resign now,
and more.
As I read through the summaries, phrases like ‘temporary restraining order,’ ‘preliminary injunction,’ ‘an order to pause the program,’ and ‘expedited summary judgment’ give me a sense that barriers to Trump are beginning to rise in the courts. It’s nice that this information doesn’t rely on group action or the media.
There is a danger, of course. Getting hopeful enough about litigation could distract from my other efforts to be heard and seen.
You’re right, this ClimateDog doesn’t focus on climate change. Adaptation and mitigation efforts are only a few of the many federal programs being litigated. My feeling, however, is that the more success Americans have across the board in making the Trump Administration adhere to law and precedent on other issues, the more we are likely to see federal climate actions reinstated. That’s why I’m watching the whole litigation scene with great interest, and why I think some of my subscribers may want to do the same. And why I’m timing this newsletter between regular ClimateDog letters, as a sort of off-topic extra.
Want to know more about climate lawsuits that are growing even bigger internationally?
The InterAmerican Court of Human Rights just announced that it intends to tell countries what their legal obligations are regarding climate change within the framework of international human rights. [Stephen Leahy]
Check out Leahy’s Lawyer Up for Climate newsletter.
Please let me know of any other time-saving sources of information on the state of climate actions.
Bravo David! Thank you for the tracking info. Legislators need to see every email, call , text and sign. Here in Charlottesville silence and apathy is not an option and we’re very vocal.
We too were out on Presidents Day.
I am not sure of the effect, but there is word going around on Feb 28 to not do any shopping to let those in control about unrest.