Federal Judge Strikes Down Trump’s Executive Order Targeting Law Firm Jenner & Block

A federal judge on Friday struck down an executive order issued earlier this year by President Donald Trump that targeted the prominent law firm Jenner & Block. The judge ruled that the order violated the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The decision, handed down by U.S. District Judge John Bates in Washington, D.C., marks the second time in recent weeks that the judiciary has blocked one of Trump’s efforts to punish a major law firm.

“This order, like others before it, aims to discourage legal representation that the administration disfavors, thereby shielding the Executive Branch from judicial oversight — a fundamental principle of the separation of powers,” Bates wrote. He added, “It thus violates the Constitution, and the Court will enjoin its operation in full.”

Bates, a George W. Bush appointee, was direct in his conclusion: “The challenged executive order targets Jenner for what it has said and thereby attempts to dampen what it might yet say. That is unconstitutional under any view of the First Amendment.”

Trump’s order had directed federal agencies to cancel contracts with Jenner & Block and its clients, restricted the firm’s access to federal buildings and officials, and suspended security clearances for its attorneys.

Following a lawsuit filed by Jenner & Block, Bates initially froze parts of the order. His latest ruling, however, goes further by striking down the order in its entirety. Earlier this month, another judge in the same courthouse overturned a similar executive order that targeted the law firm Perkins Coie. Several other legal challenges involving different firms facing retaliatory executive orders are still pending.

Jenner & Block, which maintains a Washington, D.C. office, is involved in several high-profile and politically sensitive cases. The firm has a notable team of courtroom litigators, regulatory attorneys, and congressional specialists. It also previously employed Andrew Weissmann, a former prosecutor who played a key role in the Russia investigation and led the successful prosecution of Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort.

Trump’s order, signed in March, accused the firm of betraying the legal profession’s ideals, engaging in partisan “lawfare,” and abusing its pro bono practice to undermine justice and U.S. interests. The executive order specifically cited Weissmann’s connection to the firm.

At the time the order was issued, Jenner & Block was participating in several emergency lawsuits challenging Trump’s policies — including efforts to cut federal research funding to universities and restrict access to gender-affirming healthcare for minors.

In his ruling, Judge Bates sharply criticized how Trump’s order threatened to undermine the firm’s ability to provide pro bono legal services.

“When law firms volunteer to represent vulnerable individuals and groups without pay, they embody the best of the profession,” he wrote. “This order and others like it seek not only to prevent that noble undertaking but to manipulate it. The orders strongarm firms into redirecting their uncompensated services to work the President prefers — or even perhaps to work for the President himself.”

He continued: “So when this order retaliates for (and endeavors to steer) Jenner’s ‘powerful pro bono practice,’ it sullies a tradition that instructs lawyers to pursue ideals higher than profit. The public will suffer.”