The orders also may represent exceptional acts of retribution against lawyers who have crossed him in the past, they said.

The order against the firm, which did work for Democrats during the 2016 campaign, represents an escalation of efforts to punish groups the president sees as aiding his enemies.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order suspending security clearances for employees of law firm Perkins Coie and targeting the firm's business with federal contractors, citing its diversity practices and political activities.

Former President Trump said during an interview Sunday with FNC's Maria Bartiromo that his executive order stripping security clearance and government contracts from Perkins Coie, a DNC-aligned law firm that worked with the Clinton campaign on the Steele dossier,

Many big corporate law firms are declining to help with public criticism and legal opposition to the second Trump administration, in the wake of executive orders punishing law firms with Democratic ties.