April 15, 2026 DOJ Corruption Courts rule of law fact-checked

The DOJ Dropped Its Cases Against Big Law Firms. Then Reversed Itself 24 Hours Later.

On April 15, 2026, the Department of Justice voluntarily dismissed its appeals against four major law firms it had targeted with executive orders. The next day, without explanation, the DOJ filed motions to withdraw its own dismissals and reinstate the cases. All four firms are opposing the reversal. The appeals involve whether the president has sweeping authority to sideline law firms he disfavors — a theory courts have already rejected as unconstitutional.

On Tuesday, the Department of Justice voluntarily dismissed its appeals against four major law firms that had challenged executive orders targeting them. The firms had won at the district court level — judges found the executive orders unconstitutional. The DOJ’s decision to drop the appeals signaled a retreat from defending what courts called an unprecedented use of executive power.

Then came Wednesday.

The 24-hour reversal

Tuesday: DOJ files voluntary dismissals of all four appeals. All parties had agreed.

Wednesday: DOJ files motions to withdraw its own dismissals and reinstate the appeals. No explanation provided.

All four firms swiftly opposed the reversal, urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to reject the government’s attempt to undo an agreement everyone had already signed off on.

“Plaintiffs-Appellees oppose the government’s unexplained request to withdraw yesterday’s voluntary dismissal, to which all parties had agreed. Under no circumstances should the government’s unexplained about-face provide a basis for an extension of its brief.” — Joint filing by the four law firms

What This Is About

The underlying cases involve executive orders that targeted specific law firms — firms that had represented clients in cases against the Trump administration. District court judges found the orders unconstitutional, ruling that the president does not have the authority to punish law firms for representing clients he dislikes. The DOJ appealed those rulings to the D.C. Circuit.

Tuesday’s dismissals appeared to end the legal fight. If the DOJ is not appealing, the district court rulings stand, and the executive orders remain blocked. But Wednesday’s reversal signals that someone — whether at the DOJ or the White House — changed their mind overnight. The result is legal chaos: the government agreed to drop the cases, then tried to un-drop them less than 24 hours later, without offering any reason.

The Stakes

If the D.C. Circuit grants the DOJ’s motion to withdraw its dismissal, the litigation resumes. The administration will once again argue that the president has sweeping authority to sideline law firms he disfavors. If the court denies the motion, the cases stay dismissed and the executive orders stay blocked.

Either way, the episode reveals something about how this DOJ operates. It is an institution that can reverse its own legal positions within 24 hours, without explanation, apparently at someone’s whim. These are not the actions of a department operating on principle. They are the actions of a department that doesn’t know what it wants — or that knows exactly what it wants but changes its mind when someone more powerful tells it to.

Sources

  • Reuters: DOJ voluntary dismissals Tuesday; reversal motions Wednesday; joint opposition filing from all four firms; “unexplained about-face” quote; D.C. Circuit proceedings. April 16–17, 2026.
  • Law.com / American Lawyer: Analysis of executive orders targeting law firms; district court unconstitutionality findings; scope of presidential authority to punish legal representation. April 2026.