Thakur v. Trump

── Thakur v. Trump ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Date: May 26, 2026 Category: General FOR PUBLICATION UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT NEETA THAKUR, on behalf of No. 25-4249 themselves and all others similarly D.C. No. situated; KEN ALEX; NELL GREEN 3:25-cv-04737- NYLEN; ROBERT HIRST; RFL CHRISTINE PHILLIOU; JEDDA FOREMAN; ELI BERMAN; SUSAN HANDY, OPINION Plaintiffs - Appellees, v. DONALD J. TRUMP, in his official capacity as President of the United States; UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY; AMY GLEASON, in her official capacity as Acting Administrator of the Department of Government Efficiency; NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION; BRIAN STONE, in his official capacity as Acting Director of the National Science Foundation; NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES; MICHAEL MCDONALD, in his official capacity as Acting Chairman of the National 2 THAKUR V. TRUMP Endowment for the Humanities; UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY; LEE ZELDIN, in his official capacity as Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE; BROOKE ROLLINS, in her official capacity as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture; AMERICORPS, aka the Corporation for National and Community Service; JENNIFER BASTRESS TAHMASEBI, in her official capacity as Interim Agency Head of AmeriCorps; UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE; PETER HEGSETH, in his official capacity as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Defense; UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION; LINDA MCMAHON, in her official capacity as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education; UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY; CHRIS WRIGHT, in his official capacity as Secretary of Energy; UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES; ROBERT F. KENNEDY, Jr., in his official capacity as Secretary of the U.S.  THAKUR V. TRUMP 3 Department of Health and Human Services; UNITED STATES CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL; MATTHEW BUZZELLI, in his official capacity as Acting Director of the Centers for Disease Control; UNITED STATES FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION; MARTIN A. MAKARY, in his official capacity as Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration; UNITED STATES NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH; JAYANTA BHATTACHARYA, in his official capacity as Director of the National Institutes of Health; INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES; KEITH SONDERLING, in his official capacity as Acting Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services; UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; DOUG BURGUM, in his official capacity as Secretary of the Interior; UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE; MARCO RUBIO, in his official capacity as Secretary of the U.S. Department of State; UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION; SEAN DUFFY, in his official capacity as Secretary for the U.S. Department of 4 THAKUR V. TRUMP Transportation, Defendants - Appellants. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California Rita F. Lin, District Judge, Presiding Argued and Submitted November 14, 2025 San Francisco, California Filed May 26, 2026 Before: Richard A. Paez, Morgan B. Christen, and Roopali H. Desai, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam Opinion; Concurrence by Judge Christen  THAKUR V. TRUMP 5 SUMMARY * Standing / Preliminary Injunction The panel affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court’s preliminary injunction ordering the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Science Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities to reinstate University of California (UC) rese