Clifford Chance
Pendulum Swinging: Fourth Circuit For Now Reinstates Trump Administration's DE&I Executive Orders
March 21, 2025
On March 14, 2025, a three-judge panel of the Fourth Circuit stayed the preliminary injunction that a Maryland federal district court ordered in February enjoining the implementation of EO 14151 and EO 14173 (which we wrote about here). The EOs required (1) agencies to terminate “equity-related” grants or contracts; (2) federal contractors or fund grantees to certify that they are not operating unlawful programs that “promote” DE&I; and (3) that the U.S. Attorney General “encourage” the private sector to end DE&I initiatives under threat of enforcement. As a result, the Administration for now can move forward with the implementation of the EOs. The Fourth Circuit expressly noted that it was not addressing whether the way the EOs are implemented by the agencies will be consistent with the First and Fifth Amendments, setting up the likelihood of further challenges.
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