In a sharp rebuke that pulled no punches, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell refused to back away from a high-profile case targeting law firm Perkins Coie, brushing off the Trump administration’s attempt to force her recusal as a clumsy and baseless political maneuver.
The administration had demanded Howell step aside, accusing her of being biased against Donald Trump in this case and others. But Howell wasn’t having it. In a forceful 21-page opinion, she said the request was “rife with innuendo” and didn’t come “close to meeting the standard” for disqualification.
Her ruling came just weeks after she temporarily froze much of Trump’s executive order aimed at punishing Perkins Coie—a law firm with ties to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign—by cutting off its access to federal contracts and government officials. Trump’s team has been gunning for the firm over its past work for his former rival, and Howell’s pause on that order clearly didn’t sit well.
The Justice Department tried to paint Howell as openly hostile to Trump, citing her comments in unrelated cases, including those involving the January 6 Capitol riot and various federal investigations into the former president. But Howell made clear: rulings and courtroom comments aren’t cause for recusal. That’s not how the judiciary works.
In her ruling, she warned against what she described as an attempt to undermine public faith in the courts: “This strategy is designed to impugn the integrity of the federal judicial system and blame any loss on the decision-maker rather than fallacies in the substantive legal arguments presented.”
And just to make sure her point was crystal clear, Howell reminded the administration of one core principle: it’s the job of the courts—not the White House—to decide what’s legal.
The judge is expected to rule soon on whether the freeze on Trump’s Perkins Coie order stays in place. But one thing’s already clear: she won’t be stepping off the bench anytime soon.
