* Click here for the amicus brief. Press release…

Attorney General Kwame Raoul today, as part of a coalition of 21 attorneys general, filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit, supporting fair housing organizations in their appeal of a ruling that lifted a temporary restraining order blocking the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) from canceling these organizations’ grant funding.

“The legacy of discrimination and segregation in housing continues to negatively affect the overall health of communities and limits the potential of neighborhoods throughout the United States,” Raoul said. “HUD is required to provide this funding under federal law, and it is crucial to the continued efforts to dismantle decades of discriminatory housing practices. I stand with my fellow attorneys general to oppose the Trump administration’s unlawful overreach in canceling this funding.”

Congress established the Fair Housing Initiative Program (FHIP) to provide funding to private, nonprofit housing organizations that work to prevent and eliminate discriminatory housing practices and enforce state and federal fair housing laws. According to the brief, in February 2025, HUD suddenly canceled 78 preexisting FHIP grants to housing organizations engaged in fair-housing work in 33 states. The cancellations were effective immediately and with no prior warning, despite HUD being statutorily required to provide such funding.

A group of 66 nonprofit fair housing groups subsequently sued HUD in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts, and on March 26, the court granted a temporary restraining order reinstating the organizations’ grant funding. A week later, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an interim ruling in a separate case, and HUD sought to dissolve the district court’s temporary restraining order based on that interim ruling. On April 14, the district court granted HUD’s motion. The groups have appealed that order.

In their brief, Raoul and the attorneys general argue that the temporary restraining order should be reinstated because the plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of their lawsuit. Additionally, if allowed to take effect, HUD’s sudden revocation of funding will upend the important work of housing organizations, resulting in more housing discrimination being left undetected and unaddressed, which harms their states and residents. In Illinois, Raoul’s office has collaborated with FHIP-funded organizations to identify and address housing discrimination, including by securing relief for individuals with disabilities and members of other protected classes who have faced discriminatory treatment in housing.

Joining Attorney General Raoul in submitting this brief are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont.

* Click here for the complaint. Press release…

Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a multistate coalition of 25 states and attorneys general, [yesterday] filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s termination of AmeriCorps grants and the dismantling of the agency.

Through an 85% reduction of its workforce, the Trump administration has effectively ended the agency’s ability to continue administering the programs, operations and funding that make its important work possible.

“Since 1993, approximately 1.3 million Americans have patriotically served their communities through AmeriCorps, assisting veterans and children and protecting the environment,” Raoul said. “The gutting of AmeriCorps is the latest example of the Trump administration’s disregard for the Constitution to achieve their political goals. I will continue to fight back against these illegal and meritless decisions that will have real negative consequences across our country.”

AmeriCorps is an independent federal agency that supports national and state community service programs by engaging Americans in meaningful community-based service that directly addresses the country’s educational, public safety and environmental needs. AmeriCorps also awards grants to local and national organizations and agencies which use funding to address critical community needs. These organizations and agencies use AmeriCorps funding to recruit, place and supervise AmeriCorps members nationwide.

Every year, the agency provides opportunities for more than 200,000 Americans to serve their communities. AmeriCorps members and volunteers have connected veterans to essential services, fought the opioid epidemic, helped older adults age with dignity, rebuilt communities after disasters, and improved the physical and mental well-being of millions of Americans.

In early February, the Trump administration issued an executive order directing every federal agency to plan to reduce the size of its workforce and prepare to initiate in large-scale reductions in force. Since then, AmeriCorps has placed at least 85% of its workforce on administrative leave immediately. In late April, Illinois received notice from the federal government that, effective immediately, they were eliminating 28 programs, impacting 632 workers or volunteers, on which individuals throughout the state rely.

In their complaint, Raoul and the coalition argue that by abruptly canceling critical grants and gutting AmeriCorps’ workforce, the Trump administration is effectively shuttering the national volunteer agency and ending states’ abilities to support AmeriCorps programs within their borders. The coalition explains that the administration has acted unlawfully in its gutting of AmeriCorps, violating both the Administrative Procedure Act and the separation of powers under the U.S. Constitution. Congress has created AmeriCorps and the programs it administers, and the president cannot incapacitate the agency’s ability to administer appropriated grants or carry out statutorily assigned duties. Further, by dismantling AmeriCorps and its programs, which are creatures of Congress, the administration has violated the Executive Branch’s obligation to take care that the law is faithfully executed.

Joining Raoul in filing the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin and the states of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

* Click here for the letter. Press release excerpt…

Attorney General Kwame Raoul [yesterday] co-led an open letter to the legal community, condemning actions by several of the country’s largest law firms to capitulate in the face of the Trump administration’s continued dangerous attacks on the rule of law. Some firms have even opted to strike deals to provide free legal services to support the president’s priorities.

“President Trump’s unlawful threats undermine the democratic principles upon which our nation was founded,” Raoul said. “Law firms that capitulate to these threats become complicit in the administration’s continued efforts to undercut the judicial process, which depends on the rights to free speech, effective counsel and due process. I am proud to stand with the many lawyers who have shown courage in the face of these unconstitutional attacks, and I call on all of my colleagues in the legal community to join us.”

Since taking office, President Trump has issued unconstitutional executive orders targeting several law firms because they have represented or employed political opponents of the administration or have expressed viewpoints disfavored by the administration.

In their letter, Raoul and the coalition argue that President Trump’s executive orders plainly violate the Constitution by retaliating against lawyers based on protected speech and association, as well as discriminating based on viewpoint. The orders also are inconsistent with the right to effective counsel, offend basic principles of due process and undermine bedrock rule-of-law principles. The letter points out that these unconstitutional attacks on the legal profession are an attack on our justice system and pave the way toward authoritarianism.

Raoul and the coalition highlight that four law firms – Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, WilmerHale, and Susman Godfrey – have filed suit against the Trump administration over the president’s illegal actions and have succeeded in obtaining court orders temporarily blocking these orders.

Raoul and the coalition are calling on other law firms and lawyers to fight back against these unconstitutional executive orders and join former judges, law professors and the more than 800 other law firms that have joined amicus briefs against the president’s unlawful orders. The letter urges law firms to stand together with the coalition of attorneys general in preserving the integrity of the United States’ legal system.