US judge blocks Trump's bid to ban DEI by federal agencies, contractors

By Daniel Wiessner

(Reuters) - A federal judge in Maryland on Friday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump from implementing bans on diversity, equity and inclusion programs at federal agencies and by businesses that contract with the federal government.

U.S. District Judge Adam Abelson said the directives by Trump and an order urging the Department of Justice to investigate companies with DEI policies likely violate the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The orders are part of Trump's larger efforts to eradicate DEI initiatives, which critics say are discriminatory, from the government and the private sector.

Abelson blocked Trump and several federal agencies from implementing the orders pending the outcome of a lawsuit by the city of Baltimore and three groups.

"As Plaintiffs put it, 'efforts to foster inclusion have been widespread and uncontroversially legal for decades,'" wrote Abelson "Plaintiffs’ irreparable harms include widespread chilling of unquestionably protected speech."

(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; Editing by Chris Reese and Cynthia Osterman)