Harvard to transgender rights: The many lawsuits against Donald Trump

Indian Express

4 days ago

Donald Trump, the first convicted felon elected president of the US, has spent much of his career in courtrooms. From his days as a real estate mogul to his time in the White House, Trump has faced lawsuits over everything from personal misconduct to sweeping policy changes. These legal fights involve everyday people, advocacy groups, and even entire states, all challenging actions they see as unfair or unlawful.
While serious federal cases—like those accusing him of tampering with the 2020 election or mishandling classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate—were dropped in late 2024, many other lawsuits remain active.
Some of the most personal lawsuits against Trump come from women who say he harmed them and then lied about it.
E. Jean Carroll, a former magazine columnist, won two major cases against him. In 2023, a New York jury decided Trump sexually abused her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s and defamed her by calling her claims a hoax on social media. She was awarded $5 million. In 2024, another jury found Trump liable for further defamation, granting her nearly $84 million. Trump is appealing both rulings, and the cases could end up at the Supreme Court.
Another woman, Summer Zervos, a former contestant on Trump's reality show The Apprentice, also sued him in 2017 for defamation. She claimed Trump sexually assaulted her and then publicly denied it, damaging her reputation. Her case has moved forward after a court rejected Trump's attempt to dismiss it, but it's still unresolved.
Trump's knack for making bold public statements has also landed him in court for defamation in other contexts. In 2024, the Central Park Five, five men wrongfully convinced of rape in 1989, sued him for claiming they were guilty despite their exoneration years ago.
Similarly, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, former FBI officials, sued Trump in 2023, saying he targeted them for political reasons. After their private text messages criticising Trump were made public, he attacked them, leading to professional and personal fallout. A judge allowed the case to move forward, even requiring Trump to give a deposition.
Trump's tough immigration policies have led to lawsuits from individuals caught in their crosshairs. In 2025, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man, became a symbol of these policies' human cost. He was deported to a prison in El Salvador without a hearing, even though a court had ordered he not be sent there.
Another case involves Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish graduate student in Massachusetts. In 2025, she was arrested by federal agents after co-writing an essay criticising Israel in a student newspaper. Ozturk spent six weeks in detention, describing it as a terrifying ordeal meant to silence her. She sued, arguing her arrest violated her free speech rights, and a judge ordered her release while her case continues.
Trump's policies also include a massive travel ban affecting 19 countries, like Afghanistan, Haiti, and Venezuela, with strict limits on entry. He's also ended asylum access at the southern border and paused the US Refugee Admissions Program, moves that advocacy groups say violate the Constitution. Courts have temporarily blocked some of these actions, but legal scholars warn that a 2018 Supreme Court ruling makes challenging them tough.
One of Trump's most controversial moves was an attempt to end birthright citizenship, which grants US citizenship to anyone born on American soil. His executive order aimed to stop children of undocumented or temporary residents from becoming citizens. An expectant mother, backed by immigrant rights groups and several states, sued, saying the order violates the Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees citizenship by birth. Courts have put the policy on hold, and a major lawsuit led by the A.C.L.U. is moving forward as a class action. The Supreme Court has weighed in on procedural issues but hasn't decided the policy's fate.
Trump has taken aim at transgender Americans, issuing orders that cut federal support for gender-affirming care for people under 19 and declare that only two sexes—male and female—exist in federal policy.
He also banned transgender individuals from serving in the military, calling them a 'disruption.' States, advocacy groups, and transgender people have sued, arguing these rules violate constitutional rights and anti-discrimination laws.
Federal judges have blocked parts of these orders, but the Supreme Court allowed the military ban to move forward while lawsuits continue.
Trump's legal troubles in education go back to his business days and extend to his current policies. In 2018, he settled a $25 million lawsuit over Trump University, a program that promised to teach real estate secrets. Over 5,000 students, including Tarla Makaeff, said they were misled by false promises and pressured into paying thousands for worthless seminars. Makaeff, a small business owner, shared how she lost her savings chasing Trump's 'guru' advice, only to find the courses were a sham.
Today, Trump's administration faces new lawsuits over education policy. A group of 24 states and Washington, D.C., sued after he froze $6 billion in federal grants for schools, hitting programs for migrant students, English learners, and after-school activities.
Harvard University is also fighting back, suing over Trump's threat to cut $9 billion in federal funding because the school wouldn't meet demands to ensure 'viewpoint diversity.' Harvard's leaders say this is an attack on academic freedom, sparked by Trump's criticism of campus protests over the Gaza conflict.
Trump's business dealings have long drawn legal fire. In 2022, New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Trump, his adult sons, and aide Allen Weisselberg, accusing them of lying about property values to get better tax deals and loans. In 2024, a judge ordered Trump to pay $355 million plus interest. Trump's team hit back, accusing James of mortgage fraud and asking the Justice Department to investigate her, but no charges have been filed.
Trump's push to reshape the federal government has led to lawsuits from workers and institutions. He brought back a rule called 'Schedule F,' which makes it easier to fire career federal employees, potentially for political reasons. Federal workers, many with decades of service, say they're being targeted for their expertise or opinions. Labor unions and others have sued, claiming this violates their rights. Trump also tried to shut down the Department of Education, led by Education Secretary and former WWE wrestler Linda McMahon, but a judge stopped it, saying it oversteps his power.
Teachers' unions have rallied, arguing that closing the department would gut public schools.
Trump's economic and environmental moves have also sparked lawsuits. Twelve states, including New York and Arizona, sued in 2025 to stop his tariff policies, which they say have thrown the economy into disarray.
On the environment, 22 young people sued over Trump's orders to boost oil, gas, and coal industries, arguing these policies harm their health by worsening climate change.