4th Circuit Vacates Blockade On Trump’s Elimination Of DEI Grants
Teh Fourth Circuit Court of appeals handed President Trump a major victory by vacating a maryland district court’s injunction that blocked his effort to terminate DEI-related programs in federal contracting.
– The court’s unanimous decision vacated the lower court’s injunction and remanded the case to the district court for further proceedings.
– The panel held that the plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge one provision (the Enforcement Threat Provision) of Trump’s executive orders, and that while they had standing to challenge the other provisions, they were unlikely to succeed on the merits.
– Specifically, the court found that the plaintiffs overstated the Enforcement Threat Provision and that their fears of retribution did not establish the required injury-in-fact.
– Regarding the Termination Provision, the court acknowledged that as president Trump may set policy priorities and direct agencies to terminate funding—whether that policy is sound is not for the court to decide, but rather whether the provision is unconstitutionally vague for funding recipients.
– Regarding the Certification Provision, the court ruled that challengers were not entitled to a facial attack on how the administration interprets anti-discrimination law, i.e., they could not read subtext into the provision’s text.
– The decision notes that the injunction covered multiple provisions: the court allowed challenges to some but concluded they were unlikely to prevail on the merits.
– Chief Circuit Judge Albert Diaz wrote the opinion, joined by Judges Pamela Harris and, in part, Allison Jones Rushing; the ruling vacates Abelson’s injunction and sends the case back to the district court for further proceedings.
– The article also identifies the district judge whose injunction was vacated as Adam Abelson, a Biden appointee, and provides context about the authorship and background of the reporting.
the fourth Circuit rejected the plaintiffs’ standing on key grounds, affirmed the ability to challenge some provisions, and returned the case to the district court to continue proceedings.
A federal appellate court handed President Trump a major victory on Friday by shutting down a lower court blockade on his efforts to eliminate racist DEI programs in federal contracting.
In its unanimous decision, a three-judge panel for the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a preliminary injunction issued by Maryland District Judge Adam Abelson last year. As The Federalist has reported, Abelson is a Biden appointee and Democrat donor who previously worked at a law firm stacked with Democrat partisans and lawyers involved in anti-Trump lawfare.
Abelson’s injunction attempted to prohibit enforcement of provisions included in two executive orders that Trump signed shortly after taking office. Those directives instructed executive agencies to terminate federal contracts and grants for DEI-related programs.
Writing for the three-judge panel, Chief Circuit Judge Albert Diaz, an Obama appointee, ruled that plaintiffs specifically “lack standing to challenge” the “Enforcement Threat Provision” in one of Trump’s contested orders. He and his colleagues furthermore determined that challengers “haven’t sufficiently alleged an injury-in-fact.”
“They claim that they fear retribution by defendants and that they’ll be forced to restrict ‘their speech and conduct in support of diversity, equity, and inclusion’ or face penalties. … But these allegations overstate the Enforcement Threat Provision’s text,” Diaz wrote.
The court ruled that, while plaintiffs had standing to challenge the other provisions in question, they were “unlikely to succeed” on the merits. When addressing plaintiffs’ challenges to the “Termination Provision,” which “requires that all executive agencies terminate equity-related grants or contracts,” Diaz went on to acknowledge that, as president, Trump “may determine his policy priorities and instruct his agents to make funding decisions based on them.” In this instance, he noted, the president “has decided that equity isn’t a priority in his administration and so has directed his subordinates to terminate funding that supports equity-related projects to the maximum extent allowed by law.”
“Whether that’s sound policy or not isn’t our call. We ask only whether the policy is unconstitutionally vague for funding recipients,” Diaz wrote.
Finally, in terms of their challenge against the “certification provision,” which requires agencies to certify they do not operate unlawful DEI programs, Diaz made clear that “plaintiffs are really asking us to … read subtext into the Provision’s text.” They are “challenging … how the Administration and its agency actors interpret antidiscrimination law.”
“Neither is fertile ground for a facial attack against the Certification Provision,” Diaz wrote.
The chief circuit judge was joined in his decision by Judges Pamela Harris and, in part, by Allison Jones Rushing, who were appointed by Obama and Trump, respectively.
The 4th Circuit’s ruling vacates Abelson’s injunction and remands the case back to his court for further proceedings.
" Conservative News Daily does not always share or support the views and opinions expressed here; they are just those of the writer."
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
