Appeals court lifts blocks on Trump’s orders restricting diversity, equity and inclusion programs
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WASHINGTON — An appeals court Friday lifted a block on executive orders seeking to end government support for diversity, equity and inclusion programs, handing the Trump administration a win after a string of setbacks defending President Donald Trump’s agenda against dozens of lawsuits.
The decision from a three-judge panel allows the orders to be enforced as a lawsuit against them plays out. The judges halted a nationwide injunction from U.S. District Judge Adam Abelson in Baltimore.
Two of the judges on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals acknowledged the anti-DEI orders could raise concerns about First Amendment rights but said the judge’s sweeping block went too far.
Abelson had found the orders violated free-speech rights and are unconstitutionally vague because they don’t define DEI.