‘Must cover the costs’: Trump directs DOJ to ‘enforce’ a rule of civil procedure and seek security bonds from ‘activist’ groups that win injunctions against the government

President Donald Trump delivers remarks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Friday, March 7, 2025. (Pool via AP)

President Donald Trump delivers remarks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Friday, March 7, 2025. (Pool via AP)

As courtroom losses pile up in myriad cases and controversies, the Trump administration is now looking to amass a collection of tentative money judgments in its favor that would come due later on down the line — if and when the government’s defeats are overturned on appeal.

On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed a memorandum “directing federal agencies to enforce a rule mandating financial guarantees from parties requesting” injunctions or restraining orders in lawsuits, according to a White House fact sheet about the policy.

In the memo, U.S. Department of Justice attorneys are now directed, in all cases going forward, to “demand that parties seeking injunctions against” the administration “must cover the costs and damages incurred” if the government is “ultimately found to have been wrongfully enjoined or restrained” by a lower court.

The memo, on its own terms, aims to curb the power of “activist organizations fueled by hundreds of millions of dollars in donations” and “activist judges” by pushing back against “frivolous litigation.”

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