Coalition asks judge to halt Trump’s anti-DEI contractor order

Dive Brief:

Plaintiffs involved in a lawsuit against President Donald Trump have requested that a Maryland judge block his executive order targeting diversity, equity and inclusion activities among federal contractors (National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education v. Trump).
The coalition, which filed a lawsuit against Trump on April 20, argued the order will cause irreparable harm if the court does not grant a preliminary injunction. “The administration has put federal contractors in an impossible bind: sign away their freedoms of speech and association or forgo doing business — either directly or indirectly — with the government,” it said in a court document filed Thursday.
Plaintiffs argued they are likely to succeed on the merits that the order violates the First and Fifth Amendments as well as the Administrative Procedure Act.

Dive Insight:

This case is represented by Democracy Forward and led by the National Association of Diversity Officers of Higher Education — groups not new to taking legal action against the Trump administration for actions meant to suppress DEI.

NADOHE also sued Trump over two January 2025 executive orders which targeted public- and private-sector DEI. While a Maryland judge granted a preliminary injunction in that case in February 2025, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision this past February, determining the plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge a provision that directed agency heads to prepare a report that would work to combat “illegal” DEI programs.

Trump’s March 26 executive order directed executive departments and agencies to put a clause in federal contracts and subcontracts requiring these partners to agree they will “not engage in any racially discriminatory DEI activities” or risk the cancellation of their contracts. Agency leaders have until July 24 to ensure compliance with the order.

“At its core, the executive order is a gag rule dressed up as a contract clause,” Sarah von der Lippe, an attorney involved in the case, said in a Democracy Now press release from April. “It demands minority-owned businesses trade their First Amendment right to speak about race and discrimination for fair access to federal contracts.”

Other plaintiffs in the case are the American Association of University Professors; the United Academics of Maryland-University of Maryland, College Park; the National Association of Minority Contractors; and the NAMC, District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia Chapter.