In a dramatic legal showdown, the American Bar Association (ABA) has taken the U.S. Department of Justice to federal court, claiming it was punished for speaking out.
At the heart of the dispute: $3.2 million in federal grants meant to train lawyers to support survivors of domestic and sexual violence. The ABA alleges the Justice Department abruptly yanked that funding in a retaliatory move just one day after a senior DOJ official barred government attorneys from engaging with the association. According to court filings, the Department cited the ABA’s supposed involvement in “activist causes” as justification.
The ABA’s lawsuit, filed in Washington, D.C., is asking the court to halt the termination of the grants and to issue a temporary restraining order. The organization argues that the DOJ’s actions amount to a violation of the First Amendment—penalizing it for its public stance against Trump-era policies and for defending judicial independence.
The tension between the ABA and the White House has been brewing for months. In March, Trump allies publicly lashed out at the association, calling it elitist and ideologically biased. The bar association had previously criticized federal funding rollbacks and warned of their impact on the rule of law. It also denounced attacks on the judiciary and law firms.
On the same day the latest lawsuit was filed, Trump announced an executive order targeting higher education accreditation. It directed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to review—and possibly revoke—the ABA’s authority to accredit law schools. The ABA’s status had already been under scrutiny, with Attorney General Pam Bondi previously threatening to revoke it over the group’s diversity requirements, which have since been suspended.
The ABA says it has partnered with the DOJ’s Office of Violence Against Women since 1995, using those funds to equip legal professionals to better support survivors. The lawsuit claims the organization has already lost close to $69 million in federal funds and been forced to lay off more than 300 employees.
Both the DOJ and ABA remained silent on the legal clash as of Thursday. But the message from the courtroom is clear: the nation’s largest legal association believes it’s being punished for speaking its mind—and it’s not backing down.
