Chicago Women in Trades v. Trump (Women Trades)

The Trump administration's termination of the grant program under the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations Act raises a core APA question: whether the agency provided reasoned explanation for ending a congressionally authorized program and complied with any statutory procedures governing such termination. Chicago Women in Trades contends that the sudden termination, without demonstrating statutory compliance or justifying the policy reversal, violates the APA's arbitrary-and-capricious standard. The court must determine whether the administration's asserted reasons meet the governing statute's requirements and whether the agency followed required procedural steps, or whether the decision amounts to an unexplained departure from statutory directives that Congress imposed on the executive branch.