Which state and federal cases against Donald Trump remain active as of January 2026?
Executive summary
By January 2026, the landscape of cases involving Donald Trump is divided: many executive-branch actions by his administration are the subject of dozens of active federal lawsuits and several Supreme Court matters, while the high-profile federal criminal prosecutions tied to his pre-2025 conduct were dropped or dismissed after his 2024 victory, according to contemporary reporting [1] [2]. State-level litigation is robust, with Democratic attorneys general reported to have filed 71 suits against the administration and other state and private civil actions—some resulting in judgments—still on the books [3] [4].
1. Federal criminal prosecutions: largely halted or dismissed after the 2024 election
The major federal criminal investigations that dominated headlines through 2023–2024 (including Special Counsel Jack Smith’s probes) were dropped or dismissed after Trump’s 2024 re‑election, and reporting indicates prosecutors either declined to pursue appeals or courts ruled against continuation of those indictments, leaving no active, running federal criminal trial against the president as of January 2026 in the available coverage [1] [2].
2. Federal civil and administrative litigation: dozens of active suits against administration policies
Federal courts and legal advocates are busy: advocacy groups and state actors have mounted a widespread challenge to Trump administration executive orders and agency actions, producing hundreds of pending matters and a handful of high‑profile suits advancing toward or before the Supreme Court in 2026 [5] [6]. Trackers such as Just Security and Lawfare catalog ongoing litigation targeting executive policies from tariffs to workforce reclassification [6] [7].
3. Supreme Court docket: multiple Trump‑linked administration issues pending
The Supreme Court remained a key battleground as January 2026, with the court considering the legality of sweeping global tariffs and other administration actions — Reuters and Axios reported major cases tied to Trump policy choices awaiting decision or argument in early 2026 [8] [9]. The high court also took up disputes arising from the administration’s personnel and regulatory decisions that could determine the scope of presidential authority [9] [10].
4. State‑level enforcement and suits: Democratic attorneys general leading a broad campaign
State attorneys general—especially Democratic AGs—filed scores of suits against the administration, with reporting noting 71 lawsuits pursued by state AG offices as of early January 2026; those matters cover a range of state‑federal conflicts from immigration enforcement to benefits and regulatory rollbacks and are being actively litigated and monitored by state officials [3].
5. Labor, civil‑rights, and nonprofit challenges to administration orders remain active
Public‑sector unions and civil‑rights groups continued to press litigation: AFGE and allied unions have ongoing lawsuits challenging executive orders that affect federal employment classifications and hiring rules, with proceedings extending into 2026 [11]. The NAACP Legal Defense Fund and other civil‑rights litigants pursued nationwide challenges to administration orders on birthright citizenship and DEI funding, and courts had both blocked and certified classes in parts of those fights, with the Supreme Court later agreeing to hear related questions [12].
6. Private civil suits and judgments: some resolved, others active
Private civil litigation produced mixed outcomes: high‑profile judgments, such as E. Jean Carroll’s $83.3 million defamation judgment, remained on the books even as other civil claims continued to proceed in state and federal courts; reporting from academic and public outlets summarized that assortment of civil and business cases without producing a single consolidated inventory [4] [13].
7. Limits of available reporting and what remains uncertain
Public trackers and mainstream outlets make clear that hundreds of matters touch the president or his administration, but the sources provided do not supply a definitive, itemized checklist of every active state and federal case as of January 2026; therefore this account synthesizes available reporting but cannot claim to be a complete case roster absent a comprehensive court‑by‑court audit [6] [5] [1].