DOJ Litigator for Trump’s Big Law Fights Decamps for MAGA Group

The Justice Department attorney who unsuccessfully defended President Donald Trump’s attacks against law firms in court rejoined a think tank advancing Trump-aligned goals.

Richard Lawson, who served as deputy associate attorney general, is now vice chair of litigation at America First Policy Institute. It’s not clear when Lawson left Justice, although he withdrew from at least five cases in October.

Lawson, the Justice Department, and America First Policy Institute didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

In less than a year at the department, Lawson was the Trump administration’s face in court with respect to the president’s executive orders targeting four major law firms. Federal judges shot down all four of the orders as unconstitutional—rulings that came as nine other firms pledged nearly $1 billion free legal services to stay off Trump’s target list.

Lawson’s return highlights the revolving door between the Trump administration and the group, which was founded in 2021 by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Larry Kudlow, who led the National Economic Council in Trump’s first term. In his new role, Lawson “works with the legal team at the America First Policy Institute to advance the America First agenda through impact litigation,” according to the organization’s website.

Lawson is a Florida native and longtime ally of Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was affiliated with America First Policy before being nominated by Trump to lead the Justice Department.

In one friend-of-the-court brief, America First Policy sought to convince the US Supreme Court to uphold Texas’ congressional map broadly seen as favoring Republicans for the 2026 elections. The group also supported a Louisiana law that required public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom.

Previously at America First, Lawson represented Colorado parents challenging a local school district’s transgender student policy. He also represented a Fulton County, Georgia board of elections member in a suit claiming she was denied the ability to verify the integrity of the county’s 2024 election.

He suffered repeated losses in court at Justice as judges slammed the orders against law firms as retribution campaigns designed to inflict pain on Trump’s perceived enemies. The orders barred the firms’ lawyers from entering federal buildings and threatened to cancel government contracts held by their clients.

Lawson also unsuccessfully defended the Trump administration in a lawsuit by Mark Zaid, challenging the president’s decision to revoke his security clearance. Zaid, who represented a whistleblower whose claims led to Trump’s first impeachment, won a December ruling reinstating his security clearance.

Justice is appealing the Zaid decision and the rulings for the four law firms. Deputy Associate Attorney General Abhishek Kambli is now representing the government in those cases.