Fact check: Are there ongoing contractor non-payment lawsuits against Donald J. Trump or his businesses in 2024 and 2025?

1. What the filings explicitly claim — contractors say they were shorted

The clearest, directly relevant claim is lodged by the Personal Services Contractor Association, which filed suit in February 2025 alleging that the defendants — including Trump and related entities — have unlawfully withheld payments to contractors and seeking declaratory and injunctive relief. The docket shows an amended complaint and motion practice on a preliminary injunction through spring 2025, with the plaintiff pressing the court to restore or compel payment streams disrupted by administrative actions. This case is framed as a contractor-payment dispute tied to federal contracting practices and is actively litigated in the District of Columbia ^[1].

2. Procedural posture and developments through mid‑2025 — an active injunction fight

The litigation entered the preliminary-injunction phase with filings in April and May 2025; the plaintiff filed a motion for a preliminary injunction on April 23, 2025, and defendants responded May 7, 2025. The court ordered supplemental briefing to assess the impact of related decisions, and the docket reflects continued motion practice and an appeal filed later in August 2025. This procedural arc indicates the dispute moved beyond pleadings into urgent equitable relief, reflecting contractors’ attempt to halt payment policies they say cause immediate harm ^[1].

3. Other lawsuits naming Trump are related but legally different

Several organizations — including the Global Health Council and a Small Business association for international companies — filed suit challenging the administration’s withholding of foreign assistance funding. Those complaints allege harm to organizational operations and beneficiaries and seek relief against policy-level decisions rather than money owed on specific contracts. While these matters involve withheld government funds and name Trump or his administration, they do not primarily present classic private contractor-versus-developer non-payment claims; they are policy and funding disputes with broader statutory and administrative law issues ^{[2] [3]}.

4. Historical contractor disputes provide context but not proof of current cases

Contractor claims against Trump-related businesses date to earlier projects, such as a 2017 blogger-cited suit by Freestate Electrical over alleged unpaid work on the Old Post Office/Trump International Hotel, and litigation like Electrical Contractor Solutions Corp. v. Trump Village that turned on licensing issues rather than pure non-payment. These older disputes establish a historical pattern of contractor litigation tied to Trump projects, but they do not themselves confirm ongoing 2024–2025 non-payment suits; instead, they contextualize why contractors and observers closely scrutinize current payment disruptions ^{[4] [5]}.

5. Policy shifts and agency-level payment changes that create litigation pressure

Independent of particular contract claims, an administration overhaul of the contractor payment system reportedly slowed or halted federal disbursements, raising concerns about interest liabilities under the Prompt Payment Act and prompting industry warnings that firms may avoid federal work or raise prices. This administrative reform is the proximate driver cited for increased breach-of-contract risks and anticipated claims, and it helps explain why trade groups and contractors moved to court in 2025 to seek declaratory relief or injunctions against payment policies ^[6].

6. Bottom line: what is proven, what remains uncertain, and missing records

Factually, at least one contractor-focused lawsuit against Trump-linked parties — the Personal Services Contractor Association case filed February 2025 — is ongoing and entered injunction-stage litigation in 2025; several other suits challenge withheld funding by the administration but are not classic contractor non-payment actions. Uncertainties remain about the full universe of private contractor claims in 2024–2025: public dockets confirm some cases, while others may be in state courts, arbitration, or unresolved pre‑litigation disputes not reflected in these summaries. Additional docket searches and source-by-source verification would reveal the complete caseload and outcomes ^{[1] [2] [6]}.