Civil rights groups sue Trump administration over DEI orders

WASHINGTON — Civil rights organizations sued the Trump administration Wednesday over a series of executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs and gender discrimination protections. They alleged that the orders were discriminatory and illegal, and imperiled funding for groups that provide critical services to historically underserved groups of Americans.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Lambda Legal. It claimed that President Donald Trump’s executive orders requiring a halt to spending on diversity initiatives throughout the federal government violated several provisions of the Constitution, including the First and Fifth Amendments, and intentionally discriminated against Black and transgender people.

The lawsuit also accused Trump of exceeding his authority in issuing the orders, which extend to federal contractors and grant recipients, and said they ran afoul of laws that require the executive branch to follow certain steps when it wanted to change policies.

“While the president may have his viewpoint, as flawed and discriminatory as it may be, the First Amendment bars him from unduly imposing his viewpoint on federal contractors and grantees so that plaintiffs are forced to either violate their organizational missions or risk losing the federal funding that is vitally necessary, and even sometimes lifesaving, for the communities they serve,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of three groups: the National Urban League, National Fair Housing Alliance and the AIDS Foundation of Chicago. For decades, they have received federal grants to help historically marginalized communities receive social, health and economic services.

The 101-page complaint outlined how Trump’s orders not only undermined the organizations’ missions, but also threatened their very existence, should they comply.

“That choice is nearly an impossible one: While plaintiffs cannot perform their work without addressing views and ongoing concerns related to the communities they serve, they also rely on federal funding to do that work,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit is the latest legal challenge against the barrage of executive actions Trump has taken to gut programs and slash funding since he took office.

In a statement Wednesday, Harrison Fields, a White House spokesperson, called the lawsuits “nothing more than an extension of the left’s resistance” and said the administration was “ready to face them in court.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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