Which Trump administration executive actions were blocked or stayed in 2025–2026, and which of those challenges reached the Supreme Court?
Executive summary
Federal judges across the country halted or limited multiple Trump administration executive actions in 2025–2026, with several of those injunctions and stays propelled to the Supreme Court through emergency applications or certiorari petitions; the most prominent actions that were blocked at the district level included the administration’s mass federal workforce reduction plan, an order targeting birthright citizenship, suspension of F‑1 student visa registrations, major tariff measures, and other immigration and funding moves, and the cases over workforce cuts, foreign‑aid obligations, agency firings and the tariffs—among others—reached the Supreme Court’s docket in 2025–2026 [1] [2] [3] [4] [5].
1. Workforce‑cut executive order: blocked below, stayed by the Supreme Court
A February 2025 executive order establishing a “Department of Government Efficiency” workforce optimization initiative prompted a May 22, 2025 preliminary injunction from a district judge that barred the administration from carrying out large‑scale federal workforce reductions; the administration’s emergency application brought the dispute to the Supreme Court, which granted a stay allowing the cuts to proceed while merits litigation continued (district injunction May 22; Supreme Court stay in July 2025) [6] [1] [7].
2. Birthright citizenship order: nationwide injunctions and shadow‑docket drama
Lower courts prevented the government from implementing an executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship, with at least one injunction entered by a Northern District of California judge; the matter moved onto the Supreme Court’s emergency docket and was the subject of decisions summarized by shadow‑docket trackers in mid‑2025 as the high court navigated whether and how lower courts may issue nationwide relief in that context [2] [6].
3. F‑1 visa registration suspension: mass litigation forced a reversal
The administration’s move to remove or suspend F‑1 foreign student visa registrations generated a wave of litigation—reported as “more than 100 lawsuits and 50 restraining orders” across courts—which prompted the government to reverse course and restore F‑1 registrations around April 25, 2025, after extensive lower‑court intervention rather than Supreme Court resolution [3].
4. Tariffs: sweeping policy, multi‑front legal fights, Supreme Court review pending
The administration’s broad tariff program drew numerous challenges and produced multi‑jurisdictional litigation; the Supreme Court agreed to hear at least two tariff cases (including Learning Resources v. Trump and an appeal over lower‑court rulings striking down tariffs), but as of January 2026 the court had not yet issued a final ruling on the legality of the global tariffs [4] [8].
5. Firings and removals of agency officials: emergency stays and certiorari
The dispute over the administration’s removal of agency officials—most prominently the effort to dismiss Democratic FTC member Rebecca Slaughter before her term expired—produced a lower‑court order requiring reinstatement that the Supreme Court temporarily stayed, enabling the administration to proceed while the Court considers the underlying constitutional questions about removal authority [4] [7].
6. Foreign‑aid and NIH funding disputes: injunctions, stays, and shadow‑docket decisions
Actions cancelling or withholding appropriated foreign‑aid obligations and terminating NIH grants drew lower‑court blocks and emergency litigation; the Supreme Court issued decisions via its emergency docket on funding questions (including a September 2025 decision addressing whether agencies must obligate previously appropriated foreign‑aid funds), while separate litigation over mass cancellations of NIH grants was highlighted as a major contested issue in 2025 reporting, with lower courts initially intervening [2] [9].
7. What reached the Supreme Court, and what stayed with lower courts
In short: multiple district courts issued injunctions against high‑profile Trump actions in 2025; the administration sought emergency relief frequently, and the Supreme Court granted stays or intervened in several instances—most notably in the workforce‑reduction matter (Trump v. American Federation of Government Employees), in at least one foreign‑aid obligation dispute, in the challenge over agency removals, and by taking up the tariff challenges—while other actions (F‑1 registrations, many immigration injunctions and numerous funding disputes) were resolved or remain contested mainly in the lower courts or on the merits docket [1] [2] [4] [3].
Final caveat: reporting and trackers show an extraordinary volume of litigation—Just Security, Brennan Center, Ballotpedia, Reuters and other outlets each track overlapping but not identical sets of cases—so some disputes were resolved by reversals or consolidations before Supreme Court resolution and others were still awaiting merits decisions as of early 2026 [3] [2] [6].