A federal judge blocked President Donald Trump’s bid to deprive federal funding from programs that incorporate “diversity, equity and inclusion” initiatives.
U.S. District Judge Adam Abelson ruled that Trump’s policy likely violates the First Amendment because it penalizes private organizations based on their viewpoints. And the judge said the policy is written so vaguely that it chills the free speech of federal contractors concerned they will be punished if they don’t eliminate programs meant to encourage a diverse workforce.
Abelson, a Baltimore-based appointee of former President Joe Biden, said longstanding court precedent bars the federal government from “leveraging its funding to restrict federal contractors and grantees from otherwise exercising their First Amendment rights.”
The ruling is the latest blow to Trump’s early policy and personnel moves meant to impose a sweeping overhaul of the federal government and its funding priorities. Within minutes of Abelson’s order, another federal judge barred Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” and other political appointees from accessing sensitive U.S. Treasury databases, warning that they posed a serious risk of breaches. And minutes before that, the Supreme Court maintained a short-term block on Trump’s ability to fire a powerful ethics watchdog.
Several other Trump policies remain on hold as a result of court rulings, including his effort to slash funds marked for National Institutes of Health research and his bid to abruptly curtail contracts for foreign assistance programs. Trump did score one major legal win Friday, however; a Washington, D.C. federal judge allowed Trump to move forward with a plan to dismantle the workforce at the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Trump campaigned extensively on rooting out so-called DEI initiatives from any programs funded by taxpayers.
Shortly after he took office, he signed an executive order that directed federal agencies to “terminate … ‘equity-related’ grants or contracts” and ensure that future grants and contracts don’t go to organizations with DEI programs. The executive order also instructed the Justice Department to take steps to “deter” DEI programs in the private sector.
In his 63-page ruling, Abelson wrote that Trump’s order was both potentially discriminatory and written so vaguely that groups had reason to fear “arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement.”
“The possibilities are almost endless, and many are pernicious,” Abelson wrote. “If an elementary school receives Department of Education funding for technology access, and a teacher uses a computer to teach the history of Jim Crow laws, does that risk the grant being deemed ‘equity-related’ and the school being stripped of funding? If a road-construction grant is used to fill potholes in a low-income neighborhood instead of a wealthy neighborhood, does that render it ‘equity-related’?”
The judge said it appeared some federal contractors were taking an “overinclusive” approach to the issue to avoid even potentially running afoul of Trump’s order. (Politico)
