Congressional Democrats released a letter on July 9 taking the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to task, and singling out Acting Chair Andrea Lucas, for allegedly coercing law firms into providing nearly $1 billion in pro bono work for causes approved by President Donald Trump.
The lawmakers claimed that Lucas used her position at EEOC “to facilitate a shakedown of prominent law firms that represented causes or employed individuals whom the President dislikes.” The Democrats’ letter cited a March 2025 executive order targeting Perkins Coie, along with letters EEOC sent to Perkins Coie and 19 other firms requesting information related to their diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Congressional Dems further claimed that under Lucas, EEOC has become instrumental in Trump using the “investigative and prosecutorial powers” of the government to “punish and suppress” law firms — while violating equal employment laws and the Constitution.
The letter was authored by Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee; Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., ranking member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations; and Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., ranking member of the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
A pattern established
Trump has been thorough in ensuring EEOC appointments fit his campaign promises and presidential agenda. On Jan. 20, Trump named then-Commissioner Lucas, a Republican, EEOC acting chair. About a week later, Trump fired EEOC Democratic Commissioners Charlotte Burrows and Jocelyn Samuels, along with General Counsel Karla Gilbride.
Likewise, Lucas has been vocal in aligning herself with the president. Shortly after Trump fired the commissioners, Lucas said the EEOC should rescind parts of its April 2024 anti-harassment guidance, particularly aspects related to gender and gender identity — in keeping with Trump’s executive order on sex and gender identity.
On Feb. 19, Lucas also vowed that the EEOC would focus on protecting American workers from anti-American bias, pointing to those allegedly creating a “pipeline contributing to our immigration crisis or abusing our legal immigration system.” On the first day of his presidency, Trump issued an immigration-related executive order to “protect the American people against invasion,” and his administration has continually cracked down on immigrants.
In April, Lucas named Shannon Royce, former president of the Christian Employers Alliance, as her chief of staff. Earlier in the year, Trump had also issued an executive order intended to eradicate anti-Christian bias.
Lucas continues to make good on Trump’s executive orders — this time, ones targeting alleged unlawful DEI programs — by conducting investigations into law firms with DEI programs.
Looking ahead: What the Dems want
No later than July 25, at 5 p.m., the administration is to turn over “all records, including calendar entries, meeting transcripts, memoranda, messages, and other correspondence between the Acting Chair, the Acting General Counsel, or other EEOC employees, and representatives of the White House or the Executive Office of the President” since the inauguration, per the letter.
The lawmakers also asked for similar EEOC correspondence with 12 Republican state attorney general offices that sent similar requests to the 20 law firms.
If the agency did wield its power as alleged, Congressional Dems said, “this is a perversion of the EEOC’s mission and makes a mockery of due process guaranteed under the Constitution, to which you swore an oath.”
“The American people deserve to know the truth,” they wrote.
