An appeals court has temporarily paused a judge’s ruling that had blocked the Trump administration from implementing its ban on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.
An earlier ruling in February found that Trump’s attempt to ban DEI initiatives at federal agencies and government contractors, as well as his order that the Department of Justice investigate companies with DEI policies, likely violated the First Amendment. But today’s ruling by the Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will allow the Trump administration to continue as planned, pending the final outcome of the administration’s appeal.
Trump began attempting to roll back DEI programs across the federal government almost as soon as he entered office back in January, going so far as to place officials working on them on leave one day after his inauguration.
ADVERTISEMENT
In an executive order signed on his first day in office, Trump claimed that he was ending “illegal and immoral DEI” by terminating the programs. The ban was implemented quickly; a memo sent by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management on Jan. 21 instructed the heads of federal departments and agencies to place all employees working on DEI programs on leave effective 5 p.m. the next day.
Approximately 55 federal employees in the Education Department were placed on leave as a result, and told that while they would continue to receive their salaries, they could not access their email accounts and would not be expected to come into the office. In addition, at least 14 employees in the Department of Energy whose roles involved recruiting veterans and using data to improve the workplace were placed on leave.
The temporary block on Trump’s ban was the result of a lawsuit brought by the city of Baltimore and three other groups, who sought injunctions against Trump’s orders, arguing that they were unlawful and unconstitutional.
The lawsuit, brought by the city of Baltimore, the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, the American Association of University Professors, and the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, read, “In the United States, there is no king.”
“In his crusade to erase diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility from our country, President Trump cannot usurp Congress’s exclusive power of the purse, nor can he silence those who disagree with him by threatening them with the loss of federal funds and other enforcement actions,” the suit continued.
Later that month, Trump caused a stir after seemingly referring to himself as king in a Truth Social post, writing, “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!” The official White House account followed it up with a photoshopped TIME magazine cover of Trump in a crown, the headline reading, “Long live the king.”
