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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia terminated a decades-old consent decree that effectively prohibited the federal government from using civil service exams to hire the most qualified candidates — a major step toward restoring merit-based hiring. This ruling follows America First Legal’s (AFL) motion to intervene in the case on behalf of American Moment and Feds for Freedom. Within days of AFL’s filing, the plaintiff began engaging in settlement negotiations with the Trump Administration.
Luevano v. Director, Office of Personnel Management was filed in 1979, alleging that the federal government’s Professional and Administrative Career Examination (PACE) caused a disparate impact on black and hispanic applicants. In 1981, a consent decree was entered that made it virtually impossible for the government to institute PACE, or any other type of general civil service exam, for more than four decades.
OPM tried six different exams in the first ten years after the consent decree, all of which failed due to the decree’s restrictions. Because of the consent decree, there is no general civil service exam, and the most commonly used assessment is a simple resume.
In March 2025, the Trump Administration filed a motion to terminate the consent decree. In May, AFL moved to intervene in the case, arguing on behalf of its clients that disparate impact claims under Title VII are unconstitutional. At a hearing yesterday, the court permitted AFL to object to the effective termination of the consent decree. Because this is the relief AFL’s clients sought, there is no reason for objection, and the court granted it.
“We are grateful to American Moment and Feds for Freedom for their willingness to step up and challenge this unconstitutional consent decree that has worked for over 40 years to make the federal government less effective and less capable of hiring based on merit alone. The Trump Administration has achieved a great win for the American People here, and we are happy to have been able to help,” said Nick Barry, Senior Counsel at America First Legal.
Read the order here.
Read more about AFL’s efforts here.
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