A federal appeals court rejected an effort by the city of Baltimore and others to strike down President Donald Trump‘s executive orders banning diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in the federal government and among federal grants and contracts.
The ruling from the three-judge panel on the U.S Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit lifted a lower court’s injunction blocking the orders, finding that the district court erred by finding the orders violated the First and Fifth Amendments. U.S Circuit Judge Albert Diaz, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, issued the majority ruling for the panel.
“The President may determine his policy priorities and instruct his agents to make funding decisions based on them,” Diaz said in Friday’s ruling. “President Trump has decided that equity isn’t a priority in his administration and so has directed his subordinates to terminate funding that supports equity-related projects to the maximum extent allowed by law.”
“Whether that’s sound policy or not isn’t our call. We ask only whether the policy is unconstitutionally vague for funding recipients,” the majority ruling continued.
Diaz also said in an additional concurring opinion that Friday’s ruling in the case was about “a facial challenge to two Executive Orders concerning certain DEI programming, not the legality or termination of any particular DEI program,” adding that he believes there are likely DEI programs and grants that fall within the law.
“For those disappointed by the outcome, I say this: Follow the law. Continue your critical work. Keep the faith. And depend on the Constitution, which remains a beacon amid the tumult,” Diaz said in his concurring opinion.
The executive orders were challenged by Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, the city of Baltimore, the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, and the American Association of University Professors, aiming to curb the Trump administration’s aggressive push against DEI programs.
The coalition could appeal the ruling to the full bench of the Fourth Circuit or to the Supreme Court.
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The Trump administration has aimed to eliminate DEI where it can, alleging the programs and policies amount to unlawful discrimination based on race, gender, and other immutable characteristics.
The administration has also attempted to end DEI programs in private companies, with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filing an order in federal court in recent days seeking to enforce a subpoena for Nike to hand over documents related to allegations it “discriminated against white workers.”