Trump signs EO 14263 targeting Susman Godfrey, suspending clearances and barring building access
On April 9, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14263, directing the suspension of security clearances for Susman Godfrey LLP employees, termination of all federal contracts with the firm, and restriction of firm employees from accessing federal buildings. The order cited the firm's diversity fellowship and its representation of clients in election-related and civil rights cases as justification, framing Susman's legal work as a national-security threat. Susman Godfrey, which had represented Dominion Voting Systems in its defamation lawsuit against Fox News over 2020 election coverage, filed suit to block the order within two days.
Actors
On April 9, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14263, titled "Addressing Risks from Susman Godfrey," directing the immediate suspension of security clearances held by Susman Godfrey LLP employees, requiring federal agencies to disclose and terminate contracts with the firm, and barring firm employees from accessing federal buildings. The order also directed agencies to review government contractors who do business with Susman and to terminate contracts where the firm performed services. Susman Godfrey, a trial litigation firm based in Houston, had represented Dominion Voting Systems in its $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News over the network's broadcast of 2020 election fraud claims — a case Fox settled for $787.5 million in April 2023.
EO 14263 followed the template established by Executive Order 14230, issued March 6, 2025, against Perkins Coie LLP. The stated justifications echoed the Perkins Coie order nearly verbatim: the order claimed Susman "spearheads efforts to weaponize the American legal system and degrade the quality of American elections," funds groups that "undermine the effectiveness of the United States military," and engages in "unlawful discrimination" through a diversity fellowship available to "students of color." None of the cited conduct was tied to any finding of illegality; the characterizations tracked the firm's litigation positions and client roster in cases adverse to Trump administration interests.
Susman Godfrey filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on April 11, 2025. In June 2025, U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan issued a preliminary injunction blocking most provisions of the order. On June 27, 2025, Judge AliKhan granted Susman's motion for summary judgment and permanently blocked the order, finding it violated the First Amendment's prohibitions on viewpoint discrimination and retaliation, the Fifth Amendment's due-process and equal-protection guarantees, the right to counsel, and the separation of powers. The court called the order "unconstitutional from beginning to end." It was the fourth consecutive permanent injunction against Trump executive orders targeting law firms.
Why we recorded this
The First Amendment protects the right to legal representation without government retaliation against counsel. Executive Order 14263 suspended security clearances, terminated contracts, and barred building access for a law firm based on the clients it represented and the legal positions it argued — not on any unlawful conduct by the firm. This is the use of executive power as economic punishment for protected legal advocacy. Standing Record tracks when the government deploys licensing, contracting, and access mechanisms to coerce lawyers and their clients, because these tools undermine the right to counsel and the ability of individuals to challenge government action in court.
Sources
- Addressing Risks from Susman Godfrey — The White House primary accessed June 27, 2026
- Executive Order 14263 — Addressing Risks From Susman Godfrey — The American Presidency Project primary accessed June 27, 2026
- Trump targets two first term critics, a law firm and the American Bar Association — CNN secondary accessed June 27, 2026
See also
- Trump signs EO 14250 suspending WilmerHale employees' security clearances, directing federal contractors to sever ties with firm
- Trump signed Proclamation 10948 banning new Harvard international student visas, directing State to revoke existing ones
- Interagency task force froze $2.2 billion in Harvard grants after university publicly refused White House demands
- Education Secretary McMahon barred Harvard from new federal grants, demanding governance overhaul and DEI compliance
- Interagency task force terminated additional ~$450M in Harvard research grants after president publicly defied administration demands