“Without evidence or support, the Trump administration is using the power and resources of the federal government to launch a fullscale [sic] assault on DEIA—not only within federal agencies, but throughout the private sector in contravention of the Constitution and other federal laws,” the lawsuit alleges.
A federal judge has granted an injunction against an executive order ending government support and funding for programs promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI.
According to PBS, Baltimore-based Judge Adam Abelson said that President Donald Trump’s executive order most likely violates constitutionally-protected rights, including that of free speech. Abelson’s injunction, which prohibits the executive order from being enforced, will remain in effect as the lawsuit progresses.
The plaintiffs named in the complaint include both the City of Baltimore and a coalition of higher-education groups and activists. In court filings, attorneys said that Trump’s orders are blatantly unconstitutional.
“Without evidence or support, the Trump administration is using the power and resources of the federal government to launch a fullscale [sic] assault on DEIA—not only within federal agencies, but throughout the private sector in contravention of the Constitution and other federal laws,” the lawsuit alleges. “People of color, women, LGBTQ people, and people with disabilities served by Plaintiff’s equity programs will be directly harmed by the Trump Administration’s discriminatory actions, as Plaintiffs face censorship of speech and termination of funding and activities that support and benefit vulnerable communities.”
The lawsuit referenced comments that Trump has made on Black Lives Matter protests as evidence that the executive order is underpinned by “longstanding stereotypes that Black people and other underrepresented groups are inherently unqualified and lack merit despite their accomplishments.”
“As evidenced during his first term in office by his response to the mass demonstrations against systemic anti-Black racism after the police killing of George Floyd, President Trump has sought to quell any ensuing efforts to advance racial justice, including through DEIA initiatives,” the lawsuit says. “That singular focus has continued to his current Administration: the recent Executive Orders also suggest that DEIA programs are inconsistent with merit, and do so through their text, the aggressive messaging around them, and the way the Administration has implemented them.”
The City of Baltimore and its co-plaintiffs also said that DEI programs are a practical necessity for many vulnerable Americans.
“Rather than acknowledging the need for DEIA programs to remove unfair barriers to opportunity for Black people and other excluded groups, the Executive Orders rely on these false stereotypes to support the baseless assertion that those programs provide racial preferences to unqualified Black people and other people of color,” the lawsuit alleges. “The Executive Orders simultaneously codify preferences for white people by suggesting that efforts to address racial inequity–for example, by ‘promoting diversity’–are, by definition, reverse discrimination.”
Sources
Civil and Human Rights Organizations Sue Trump Administration Over DEI, Gender Orders
Group of DEI workers sue to stop Trump executive orders
Judge blocks Trump’s order to withdraw federal funding for DEI programs as lawsuit plays out
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