The US justice department abruptly reversed course on Tuesday and decided it would defend executive orders made by Donald Trump to try to penalize law firms that represented clients or causes the president did not like.

On Monday, the department announced in a court filing that it was dropping its appeal against a ruling by a district court judge that blocked Trump’s retaliatory executive actions against four companies that refused to make a deal with him.

Trump’s “capitulation” was celebrated by at least two of the the companies that welcomed the DoJ’s voluntary withdrawal from the legal proceedings.

On Tuesday, however, the government filed a new, single-paragraph request to the US court of appeals for the Columbia circuit, announcing it had changed its mind, and wished “to pursue this appeal”.

It gave no reason for its sudden about-face, and quoted attorneys for the four companies who unanimously opposed “the government’s unexplained request to withdraw yesterday’s voluntary dismissal, to which all parties had agreed”.

In a statement, Susman Godfrey, one of the four law firms that initially stood up to Trump, said: “Yesterday evening, the administration told the court that it gave up and wouldn’t even try to defend its unconstitutional executive orders. Today, it reversed course. Regardless, Susman Godfrey will defend itself and the rule of law – without equivocation.”

There was no immediate comment from the White House or justice department.

A number of other law companies made settlements with Trump’s administration in the months after his second presidency began to avoid consequences, including being stripped of security clearances and having access to government buildings terminated.

Critics called the capitulations, which included commitments of pro-bono legal work for causes favored by Trump, acts of “capitalistic cowardice”.

The four companies that defied Trump – Perkins Coie, WilmerHale, Susman Godfrey and Jenner & Block – learned on Monday that the justice department was dropping its appeal against trial court rulings that blocked implementation of the president’s executive orders imposing sanctions.