That’s an average of five lawsuits filed each month since Trump took office in January, and it’s nearly six times as many as the state filed during the first year of his initial term in 2017.
The contrast between the two presidencies reflects a new era for states challenging federal overreach, legal experts say.
The Beaver State is partnering with dozens of other Democratic-led states to lead the legal resistance against Trump. The state is expected to join more lawsuits, and many of those cases will take years to resolve.
“If they keep skirting the law, we are going to keep suing them,” Dustin Buehler, special counsel to Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, told the Capital Chronicle. “If the rights of Oregonians are at risk, or there are federal actions that are impinging on Oregon’s values, we will sue.”
Among the lawsuits, the state of Oregon is arguing Trump is unconstitutionally using his power to impose tariffs, blocking federal funding for Planned Parenthood, sharing Oregon residents’ Medicaid records with federal immigration enforcement officials and demanding that states turn over personal data about residents receiving food assistance.
Oregon partners with other Democratic states to lead resistance against Trump
Oregon’s first lawsuit of Trump’s second term came just one day after he took office and signed an executive order to revoke birthright citizenship. Oregon sued on Jan. 21.
Buehler called the lawsuit a “no-brainer.”
“The president shouldn’t be allowed to take words out of the Constitution, and the Constitution is clear that Americans are entitled to birthright citizenship,” he said. “We were ready for that because, say what you will about President Trump, but he does what he says he’s going to do.”
Buehler is the liaison between the Oregon Department of Justice and a coalition of 21 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia who meet daily to share updates on the dozens of multi-state lawsuits they’ve filed since Trump returned to office.
There isn’t a limit to how many times Oregon can sue the federal government. By joining multi-state efforts, the state splits the costs of litigation. And the outcomes of suing outweigh the costs, Buehler said.
“These lawsuits have saved Oregon over $3.3 billion in federal grants and federal funding to our state agencies or state universities,” Buehler said. “It does cost taxpayers money to file these lawsuits, but it’s well worth it because of how much money is saved. The cost is just an infinitesimally small part compared to the benefit to Oregon.”
Things are different now, former Oregon Attorney General saysFormer Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, who served as the state’s top legal officer from 2012 to 2024, said that she’s proud of lawsuits her staff was a part of during Trump’s first term.
By the end of Trump’s first term, the state of Oregon had filed 50 lawsuits. This includes suing the Trump administration to overturn a travel ban on predominantly Muslim countries, to remove a rule restricting doctors’ ability to provide referrals for abortion services and to retain the program allowing the 11,000 immigrants in Oregon who were brought to the U.S. as children to legally work.
“To one degree or another we won all of these,” Rosenblum, who now serves as a senior judge, told the Capital Chronicle.
But things are different now, she said.
“There were more limits on the president’s executive power by way of Congress, the courts and even the president’s own advisers,” she said. “Much of that is changed, including some case law that has dramatically changed the legal landscape nationally.”
She cited several U.S. Supreme Court court decisions from recent years that have altered the balance of government power — including its decision to overturn the national right to abortion, a ruling that made it harder for federal agencies to create and enforce regulations and its decision that presidents are immune from criminal prosecution.
It’s not just Democratic states suing. There have been at least 274 lawsuits filed against the Trump administration since Inauguration Day, according to the Associated Press.
“That’s case law that’s pretty significant,” Rosenblum said. “Those are just three examples of cases, but there are many others that have not been favorable to, certainly to the work that I did as attorney general.”
Buehler said he also recognizes that the composition of the courts is different than it was eight years ago.
“That’s in large part because President Trump confirmed a lot of judges during his first term to the federal courts,” Buehler said. “So it’s a more challenging environment in some ways, and yet for us doing nothing is not an option. We still feel like we need to defend the rights and values of Oregonians.”
It’s not just Democratic states suing. There have been at least 274 lawsuits filed against the Trump administration since Inauguration Day, according to the Associated Press.
