Federal judge blocks key parts of Trump’s anti-DEI orders – JURIST
A judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction preventing the US Department of Labor from requiring government contractors and federal grant recipients to certify they do not operate any diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs that violate any federal anti-discrimination laws.
Executive Order 14151—the termination provision—orders applicable federal agencies to terminate all “equity action plans,” “equity” actions, initiatives, or programs, “equity-related” grants or contracts, and all DEI performance requirements for employees, contractors, or grantees. Executive Order 14173—the certification provision—mandates that recipients of federal grants validate that they are not conducting any DEI initiatives in violation of federal anti-discrimination laws.
The preliminary injunction comes after the non-profit organization Chicago Women in Trades (CWIT) filed a complaint challenging the executive orders. In 2024, CWIT received federal money from the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) program, which works to increase women’s participation in apprenticeship programs and nontraditional occupations such as trades, construction, project management, and cybersecurity. After Trump’s executive orders, CWIT stood to lose thousands of dollars in federal funding, hindering its efforts to increase the representation of marginalized women in key fields. Approximately 70 percent of CWIT’s participants are Black and Latina women.
In the preliminary injunction, Judge Matthew Kennelly held that CWIT would likely prevail on its First Amendment challenge to the certification provision. CWIT argued that the anti-DEI executive orders impose restrictions that are “overbroad” and “impossibly vague” and that “condition CWIT’s receipt of federal funding upon the stifling of CWIT’s protected speech.” Additionally, Kennelly found that CWIT was likely to succeed on the merits of its claim that the termination provision violates the separation of powers. The US Constitution does not permit any executive branch official to unilaterally terminate federal grants and contracts without express statutory authority from Congress. The preliminary injunction is narrow in scope and applies only to the US Department of Labor, not to all federal agencies.
Just a few weeks ago, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld the government’s request to stay a nationwide preliminary injunction that blocked enforcement of the same contested elements of the two executive orders.
