On Friday, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland issued a preliminary nationwide injunction on three key sections of President Trump’s executive orders titled, “Ending Radical Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” and “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” (collectively the “Anti-DEIA Executive Orders”). The Trump Administration’s Executive Orders and their implementation have already wreaked havoc: impacting the livelihoods of our plaintiffs and threatening hard-fought wins in civil rights.
The decision was in response to a suit filed by a diverse coalition of partners including the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (“NADOHE”), the American Association of University Professors, Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (“ROC”), and the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, Maryland.
The court’s decision to issue this injunction is an important step in safeguarding our rights and freedoms and protecting efforts to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.
A Message from Our President & Executive Director, John C. Yang:
We are pleased by the court’s decision to protect Americans from the fallout of President Trump’s anti-diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility executive orders. As we have argued, enforcement of these unconstitutional orders, which undermine diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, has already had immediate harmful effects on federal grantees that are only escalating by the hour.
Contracts and grants for life-saving research have been canceled, thousands of federal employees have lost their jobs and the critical funding of municipalities and vulnerable communities around the country have been put at risk. The temporary restraining order will ultimately protect the livelihoods of millions of people as the case is evaluated by the court.
Together, we can ensure a future where equity, diversity, and inclusion are protected for all.
Thank you for standing with us.
In solidarity,
John C. Yang
