On Friday, February 21, a Maryland federal court judge in Maryland issued a nationwide injunction temporarily preventing enforcement of three key provisions of President Trump’s Executive Orders 14151 and 14173 targeting DEI programs (links below). The court found the following provisions of the Orders were unconstitutional under the First and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

• The requirement that federal contractors and grantees certify that they do not operate “illegal” DEI programs and comply with federal discrimination laws for purposes of False Claims Act (the “Certification” provision in EO14173 Section 3(b));
• The provision directing the Attorney General to deter “illegal” DEI programs or principles in the private sector by, in part, submitting a report identifying up to nine civil enforcement investigations of certain private sector companies, associations, and educational institutions (the “Enforcement Threat” provision in EO14173 Section 4); and
• The requirement that federal agencies terminate federal equity-related grants or contracts (the “Termination” provision in EO 14151 Section 2(b)(i)).

The challenged provisions in President Trump’s DEI Executive Orders are Executive Order 14151 (Jan. 20, 2025) and Executive Order 14173 (Jan. 21, 2025).

The Certification Provision:

Section 3(b) of EO 14173 requires the head of each agency to include in every contract or grant award:

1. A term requiring the contractual counterparty or grant recipient to agree that...

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