US Agencies Allegedly Defy Court Order on Trump's DEI Ban

U.S. agencies are reportedly defying a court order that blocked President Donald Trump's ban on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs for federal contractors. Groups suing over the ban stated in a court filing on March 13 that agencies continue to threaten contractors with loss of funding if they don't sign contracts with anti-DEI language. The plaintiffs, including the city of Baltimore, informed U.S. District Judge Adam Abelson that federal agencies are disregarding his previous order to halt enforcement of the policy during the lawsuit. A Rolling Stone report corroborated these claims, alleging that Trump administration officials are instructing staff to ignore the court order. Judge Abelson has scheduled a telephone status conference for Friday at 3:00 p.m. (7:00 p.m. GMT) to address the issue. The lawsuit, filed by organizations such as the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, argues that the anti-DEI policy violates freedom of speech under the First Amendment.