Fast-moving Trump DOGE policies and court challenges leave Justice Department lawyers twis

“I don’t know.”

That’s the answer that Justice Department attorneys, when asked basic questions by judges about President Donald Trump’s dramatic overhaul of the federal government, have been forced to offer in multiple court hearings as the legal challenges move at lightning speed.

The government attorneys tasked with defending Trump’s agenda over the past few weeks have been put in an extremely challenging position, often showing up to court proceedings not fully prepared or with incorrect information, amid the chaos emanating from the White House and in agencies across the executive branch.

One judge scolded them for failing to flesh out legal arguments in writing. Court hearings have dragged on for hours because the lawyers are unable to get their clients – the agency “decision makers” – on the phone to weigh in on proposals and questions. And in a handful of cases, the department has been forced to correct statements made by its attorneys to the court after agencies gave them the wrong details.

One government attorney was even chastised by a judge for showing up to a hearing, scheduled with just over two hours’ notice, without a tie.

Courts have issued a cascade of rulings in recent days pausing various Trump agenda items, such as efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency to access sensitive government data systems, attempts to unilaterally freeze billions of dollars in federal funding, and moves to defund transgender healthcare.

“Everyone is being stressed,” Matthew Lawrence – a former attorney in the DOJ division that usually handles lawsuits challenging executive branch policies – told CNN, pointing to the “sweeping” and at times “incompletely baked” Trump orders that are driving the legal challenges.

“Everybody has to deal with uncertainty,” Lawrence added. “It’s a challenge across the system.”

A White House that’s distrustful of long-time federal employees, coupled with dozens of far-reaching executive orders and policy shifts, has sent agencies into turmoil, which in turn has hamstrung the Justice Department’s ability to defend the administration. Trump’s upending of how the federal government operates has forced judges to act quickly to issue temporary rulings just to maintain the pre-Trump status quo or to push the parties in agreements that would buy a few more days of continued briefing.

Only in recent days and in the coming weeks are the cases moving toward judges looking closer at claims and meatier arguments.

At an early February hearing concerning Treasury Department data, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly decried the “paucity” of official public information about the DOGE as she tried – with limited success – to understand basic facts about the entity’s mission.

“I’m not trying to pin you to the wall,” she told the DOJ attorney. “I’m just trying to figure this out.”