Santa Clara County has taken a stand against President Donald Trump in court over the last year, challenging efforts to end birthright citizenship, disrupt federal funding for not complying with Trump’s agenda and more.
The county sued the federal administration nine times in 2025 — and has won favorable rulings in five cases. During Trump’s first term, the county filed seven lawsuits in total. The actions are part of a broader effort of local governments, organizations and states fighting against Trump’s actions. California has sued the administration 53 times so far, including its most recent lawsuit over Trump freezing welfare and child care funding.
“When brazen, politically motivated and unlawful edicts are imposed by fiat — disregarding the rule of law and harming our residents — we have a duty to act,” Otto Lee, president of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, told San José Spotlight. “We have taken decisive legal action to halt reckless, cruel and arbitrary orders and to protect our communities.”
Trump’s actions are putting $3.6 billion of federal funding at risk in the county every year, according to estimates provided by county officials. A spokesperson for County Executive James Williams said his office isn’t tracking how much is being spent on these lawsuits. The spokesperson said one case has protected $48 million in federal homeless funds, keeping more than 1,800 county residents housed.
Here are the lawsuits the county has filed and where they stand.
County of Santa Clara v. Trump
Santa Clara County filed a Jan. 30, 2025 lawsuit to block Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship, calling the order unlawful and unconstitutional.
Trump issued the order within hours of taking office on Jan. 20, calling for the rejection of a 150-year-old constitutional provision stating everyone born in the United States is a citizen regardless of their parents’ citizenship.
The 14th Amendment guaranteed birthright citizenship in 1868, as one of the post-Civil War reconstruction amendments to address the treatment of enslaved people. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the amendment in a 1898 ruling involving a baby born in San Francisco to Chinese parents, which was filed in the same federal court as Santa Clara County’s lawsuit.
The court issued a preliminary injunction blocking Trump from ending birthright citizenship.
San Francisco v. Trump
After Trump issued executive orders to deny federal funding to “sanctuary” cities, San Francisco, Santa Clara County and other local governments sued the Trump administration on Feb. 7, 2025. A sanctuary city protects immigrants by limiting local cooperation with federal immigration agents.
A preliminary injunction was granted, protecting the 50 plaintiffs involved in the lawsuit including Oakland, San Diego, Santa Cruz, Portland, Oregon and Minneapolis, Minnesota. The case is ongoing before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
“At a time when we continue to see tremendous federal overreach, the court’s ruling affirms that local governments can serve their mission and maintain trust with the communities they care for,” Santa Clara County Counsel Tony LoPresti previously said in a statement.
Louisiana v. Department of Commerce
On Jan. 17, 2025 Louisiana, West Virginia, Kansas and Ohio sued the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Census Bureau, challenging a longstanding rule that counts all residents for the census. The states argued only citizens should be counted in the census. Santa Clara County intervened on Feb. 14, 2025 as a defendant.
The case was temporarily paused to allow time for the new leadership at the Department of Commerce to transition.
American Federation of Government Employees v. Trump
A coalition of labor unions and local governments including Santa Clara County sued Trump on April 28, 2025 in response to an executive order to conduct mass reductions in the workforce and reorganize federal agencies.
A preliminary injunction was granted to block the mass layoffs from happening in the agencies named in the lawsuit, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The Trump administration appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court on June 2, and the justices intervened to allow Trump to continue restructuring the agencies.
The case was vacated and sent back to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, where the case is being litigated. The federal government must produce a plan for the restructuring as part of the discovery process.
King County v. Turner
Santa Clara County, San Francisco and more than 70 local governments sued the Trump administration on May 2, 2025 for imposing conditions onto grants to align with the president’s policy agenda, including prohibiting programs supporting immigrants, abortion and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
A preliminary injunction was granted, blocking the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Department of Health and Human Services and HUD from imposing these requirements. The case is ongoing before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Department of Health and Human Services issues the most grants of any federal agency, providing funding for child welfare, social services and more. Santa Clara County gets more than $275 million through the department annually.
“The grant funding at stake in this lawsuit is more important than ever in light of the unprecedented federal funding cuts the county is facing,” LoPresti said in a statement. “These grants are essential for the county’s work to deliver lifesaving care at our hospitals and clinics, prevent infectious disease, serve vulnerable children and families and many other services.”
County of Santa Clara v. Noem
Santa Clara County, San Francisco and more than two dozen local governments filed a Sept. 30, 2025 lawsuit challenging the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security for imposing conditions onto emergency funding to comply with Trump’s agenda. A preliminary injunction was granted, blocking the federal administration from withholding funding.
District 2 County Supervisor Betty Duong said the administration’s attempt to cut emergency funding puts thousands of lives in danger, particularly the most vulnerable Americans.
“County of Santa Clara v. Noem is a prime example of the mean-spiritedness and pettiness of the current federal administration,” Duong told San José Spotlight. “I am so proud that our county is a leader in this lawsuit. And I’m also proud that the court agrees with us that the Constitution forbids the Trump administration from forcing local governments to abandon their diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in order to receive lifesaving federal funding that has long been critical to safeguarding the safety and resilience of our communities.”
San Francisco v. Department of Justice
Santa Clara County, San Francisco, San Diego and Tucson, Arizona sued the Trump administration on Oct. 28, 2025 in response to the U.S. Department of Justice imposing requirements to comply with Trump’s agenda to receive Community Oriented Policing Services grants. The case is ongoing.
The grants are one of the federal government’s primary sources of funding for local law enforcement agencies, and have allowed jurisdictions to create community policing programs and more. More than $21 billion in grants has been given since the program was established in 1994.
National Council of Nonprofits v. McMahon
The county — along with a coalition of nonprofits, unions and local governments — filed a lawsuit on Nov. 3, 2025 against Secretary of Education Linda McMahon for disqualifying those not aligned with Trump’s agenda from the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, including organizations working toward LGBTQ+ rights and racial equity. The case is ongoing.
The loan forgiveness program allows people working in public service and certain nonprofits to have their federal student loans forgiven after 10 years if they have made monthly payments.
National Alliance to End Homelessness v. HUD
The county, San Francisco and other local governments and nonprofits sued the federal administration on Dec. 1, 2025 in its attempt to upend grants dedicated to permanent housing programs.
A judge has temporarily blocked HUD from stripping permanent housing funds and moving it to temporary housing programs.
“At a time when the federal government is taking aggressive action to undermine the Constitution, attack our immigrant communities and strip critical funding for health care and other services, the county has been proud to stand as an example of good government that remains deeply committed to serving our residents,” LoPresti told San José Spotlight. “We’re taking a multifaceted approach to responding to the Trump administration’s policies. Litigation has been — and will continue to be — an important tool for protecting the county’s interests.”
Contact Joyce Chu at [email protected] or @joyce_speaks on X.