(The Hill) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked parts of President Trump’s executive orders that sought to end the federal government’s backing of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts.
U.S. District Judge Adam B. Abelson, a former President Biden appointee, issued a preliminary injunction on Friday that prevents the administration from altering or ending contracts viewed as DEI-related.
The federal judge also ruled that the administration could not “bring any False Claims Act enforcement action, or other enforcement action, pursuant to the Enforcement Threat Provision, including but not limited to any False Claims Act enforcement action premised on any certification made pursuant to the Certification Provision.”
Since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump penned two executive orders with hopes of eliminating DEI in the federal government and shrinking its influence in higher education and corporate America. The orders have prompted firings in the federal government while various groups have filed lawsuits in response.
In court, the administration has pushed back on the plaintiff’s claims, saying the orders were forged in adherence with the current legislation in place.
“Plaintiffs, who have easily established their standing to bring this case and irreparable harm, have shown they are likely to prove the Termination and Enforcement Threat Provisions are unconstitutionally vague on their face,” Abelson said in a Friday opinion.
The judge said it is not just the “vagueness” of the challenged provisions that makes them unconstitutional, writing later that the most “‘blatant’ and ‘egregious form of content discrimination’ is viewpoint discrimination.”
Abelson’s Friday ruling does not prevent the Department of Justice from compiling and probing schools and corporations’ DEI efforts, but it prevents enforcement.
