Constitutional experts call on institutions to uphold existing obligations under state and federal law when faced with potentially unlawful federal directives.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 18, 2025
Contact:
Emily Hagan-Howe, Communications Director, ACLU of Vermont
[email protected] | 802-243-3339
Montpelier, VT – Today, the ACLU of Vermont issued legal guidance detailing how public and private institutions should respond to unlawful federal directives or threats to withhold funding. In making this guidance available as a letter open to the public, the ACLU seeks to empower organizations of all sizes to resist voluntary compliance with federal abuses of power that undermine state and federal law.
“The almost daily barrage of executive actions issued by the Trump administration is intended to create chaos, division, and uncertainty across civil society,” said Falko Schilling, Advocacy Director at the ACLU of Vermont. “Vermonters expect leaders from both the public and private sectors to respect the rule of law and our democratic norms. Doing so requires these institutions to assess whether voluntary compliance with a particular federal directive would violate state or federal law or undermine values Vermonters cherish—and if so, refrain from giving in to that unjust abuse of power.”
This guidance comes in response to a series of unlawful actions taken by the federal government over the first five months of President Trump’s second term, including: executive orders targeting specific law firms to dissuade them from opposing the government; threatening enforcement actions against universities to intimidate and chill the speech of their students and faculty; pronouncements on the supposed “illegality” of diversity, equity, inclusion, or accessibility efforts; and the withholding of funds for school meals as a means of forcing transgender students out of public life.
To date, the ACLU has taken over 100 legal actions against the Trump administration for these and other brazenly unconstitutional abuses of power, successfully blocking many of the executive branch’s directives.
In its guidance, the ACLU of Vermont asserts: “this Administration is using its power to try and pressure institutions into pre-emptive compliance with its unlawful objectives. And make no mistake—most of these efforts by the Administration are, in fact, unlawful. When institutions have resisted and challenged these efforts in Court, they have won. The Administration is hoping, however, that if it moves fast enough—or if it is clever enough in packaging coercive leverage through normal bureaucratic processes—that institutions will either not notice, or will voluntarily comply for fear of retribution.”
The guidance goes on to explain: “That is why it is essential that Vermont institutions pause and scrutinize any directive or request from the federal government before reflexively complying with what may ultimately prove to be an unlawful attempt to gain leverage.”
The ACLU of Vermont is also offering to provide analysis or assistance, should any Vermont entities receive questionable federal guidance.
“Frankly, the volume and success of litigation against the Trump administration is reason enough for any Vermont institution to proceed with caution when faced with new federal directives or funding conditions,” said Lia Ernst, Legal Director at the ACLU of Vermont. “Violating Vermont values—and our most cherished constitutional rights—to curry favor with the federal government is a misguided strategy at best. Public or private entities that attempt to avoid potential retribution by voluntarily engaging in discrimination or other unlawful conduct can expect to face legal consequences. We hope this guidance will empower organizations across Vermont to lead with courage and resist preemptive compliance.”
A copy of the legal guidance is available here.
