Lawsuit Seeks to Challenge Trump’s DEI Executive Orders

The National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, the American Association of University Professors, Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, and the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore have filed a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s Executive Orders 14151 (“Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs”) and 4173 (“Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity”). The lawsuit names President Trump, and several federal agencies, including the U.S. Labor and Justice departments and the Office of Management and Budget.

The plaintiffs said the executive orders violate the First Amendment (freedom of speech) and Fifth Amendment (due process), arguing they chill free speech on political matters and are overly vague, particularly in defining diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) terms. They said these principles are essential to their mission, and they fear harm due to the orders, including the provision within EO 4173 requiring the U.S. Attorney General, in consultant with other relevant government agencies, to submit a report to the president containing recommendations for enforcing Federal civil-rights laws  and identifying up to nine potential civil compliance investigations of large non-profit corporations or associations, institutions of higher education with endowments over 1 billion dollars and more. The plaintiffs want the court to declare the executive orders unconstitutional and to block them from being enforced.