Appeals court allows Trump to enforce ban on DEI programs for now
The court temporarily allowed a ban on DEI programs at federal agencies and businesses with government contracts, which had been blocked by a judge.
A U.S. appeals court on Friday said the Trump administration could temporarily implement a ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs at federal agencies and businesses with government contracts, which had been blocked by a judge.
The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the directives by President Donald Trump, including an order urging the Department of Justice to investigate companies with DEI policies, were likely constitutional, disagreeing with a February ruling by a federal judge in Maryland.
But two of the three judges on the 4th Circuit panel wrote separately they did not agree with the substance of Trump’s orders and that agencies that implement them may risk violating the U.S. Constitution.
“Despite the vitriol now being heaped on DEI, people of good faith who work to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion deserve praise, not opprobrium,” Circuit Judge Albert Diaz wrote.
Circuit Judge Allison Rushing, a Trump appointee, responded that her colleagues’ policy views were irrelevant to whether Trump’s directives should stand.
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