Thakur V Trump

Key Facts

Transaction Type

Issues

• The second issue involves the DEI Termination Class's challenge to grant terminations under the First Amendment. The court rejected the government's argument that funding decisions need not be viewpoint neutral, finding the agencies' actions targeted speech favorable to DEI, DEIA, and environmental justice. This constitutes viewpoint discrimination, violating the First Amendment's prohibition on suppressing disfavored ideas through subsidy withdrawal.
• The first issue centers on the government's argument that the Tucker Act bars the district court from adjudicating the Form Termination Class's Administrative Procedure Act (APA) claim. The court agreed, holding that such claims are 'disguised' breach-of-contract claims subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of Federal Claims when seeking monetary relief exceeding $10,000.

Holdings

• The court found the government failed to make a strong showing that it is likely to succeed on the merits of its claim that the district court abused its discretion in concluding the DEI Termination Class's First Amendment claim was valid. The court emphasized that the government cannot suppress disfavored viewpoints through funding decisions, citing Supreme Court precedents.
• The court concluded that the government has made a strong showing that the district court lacks jurisdiction to review the Form Termination Class's APA claim under the Tucker Act, which grants exclusive jurisdiction to the Court of Federal Claims for contract claims exceeding $10,000.

Remedies

• The court denied the government's motion for a partial stay pending appeal concerning the DEI Termination Class.
• The court granted the government's motion for a partial stay pending appeal regarding the Form Termination Class.

Legal Principles

• The court held that the government's termination of grants based on DEI, DEIA, and environmental justice viewpoints violates the First Amendment. This principle, derived from cases like Finley and Regan, prohibits the government from using its funding power to penalize certain viewpoints, even if it's acting as a patron.
• The Megapulse test is used to assess whether a claim under the APA is a disguised breach-of-contract claim. This test considers the source of the plaintiff's rights and the type of relief sought, impacting whether district courts have jurisdiction. The court applied this test to conclude the Form Termination Class's claim was a contract issue, thus under the Tucker Act's jurisdiction.
• The Tucker Act grants the Court of Federal Claims exclusive jurisdiction for contract claims against the United States exceeding $10,000, thereby precluding such claims from being heard in federal district courts under the APA's limited waiver of sovereign immunity. This principle was applied to determine that the Form Termination Class's APA claim was jurisdictionally improper in the district court.

Precedent Name

• Regan v. Tax'n With Representation of Wash.
• National Institutes of Health v. American Public Health Ass'n
• Rosenberger v. Rector and Visitors of University of Virginia
• Trump v. Boyle
• Rust v. Sullivan
• National Endowment for the Arts v. Finley

Cited Statute

• Tucker Act
• Administrative Procedure Act

Judge Name

• Morgan B. Christen
• Richard A. Paez
• Roopali H. Desai

Passage Text

• We are bound by the bedrock principle that the government cannot 'leverage its power to award subsidies on the basis of subjective criteria into a penalty on disfavored viewpoints' or 'aim at the suppression of dangerous ideas' in the provision of subsidies.
• The government's motion for partial stay pending appeal (Dkt. No. 7) is GRANTED in part as to the Form Termination Class and DENIED in part as to the DEI Termination Class.
• The Tucker Act 'impliedly forbid[s]' an APA action seeking injunctive and declaratory relief only if that action is a 'disguised' breach-of-contract claim.

Damages / Relief Type

• Declaratory relief sought to determine the legality of grant terminations under the First Amendment and APA
• Injunction issued to reinstate terminated federal research grants