Fight Trump or 'finish that kitchen rehab': Obama tears into law firms

Former President Barack Obama at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 20, 2024 (Peter Serocki/Shutterstock.com)
Former President Barack Obama at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 20, 2024 (Peter Serocki/Shutterstock.com)
Adam Lynch
July 15, 2025 | 11:46AM ETMSN UK

Business Insider reports former president Barack Obama counts himself among the group ripping law firms for surrendering to President Donald Trump.

Obama was addressing a private Friday fundraiser in New Jersey when he expressed disappointment that some of the country's top law firms had "set aside the law" in the face of Trump's attacks.

“Not because, by the way, that they’re going to be thrown in jail, but because they might lose a few clients and might not be able to finish that kitchen rehab at their Hampton house,” Obama told his audience at a fund-raiser for the Democratic National Committee. “I’m not impressed.”

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Since February, Trump has issued executive orders targeting big law firms like Paul Weiss, Perkins Coie, and Covington & Burling. Trump stripped companies of their security clearances and ordered reviews of each firm's government contract.

Some law firms, such as Paul Weiss and Kirkland & Ellis, struck deals with Trump, in what critics called a “shakedown,” promising pro bono legal work for conservative causes. Others, including Perkins Coie and WilmerHale, chose to fight back and filed lawsuits against the administration over First Amendment violations.

Business Insider reports Obama has his own “ties to Big Law,” going back to his Harvard Law School days. After his first year of law school, the former president worked as a summer associate at Sidley & Austin. Later, Obama worked as a civil rights attorney at the litigation firm Miner, Barnhill & Galland, before entering politics.

The New York Times reports Obama scolded Democrats for failing to speak out against Trump, and he mocked the seemingly menial amount of risk required to fight back compared to the fallout people suffered in the past for standing up for what’s right. The Times reports Obama referenced the nine-by-nine-foot prison cell in which the South African government sentenced Nelson Mandela for 27 years.

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“Nobody’s asking for that kind of courage,” Obama said.

Read the full Business Insider report at this link.