US judge won't block Trump order targeting DEI by federal contractors

By Daniel Wiessner Oct 14 (Reuters) — A federal judge declined on Wednesday to block an effort by President Donald Trump to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives ​by companies that do business with the US government. US District Judge Adam Abelson in Baltimore, Maryland, said that groups representing university faculty and minority business owners had failed to show a March executive order by the Republican president was too broad. Trump's order bars "racially discriminatory DEI activities" by federal contractors and requires them to certify their compliance in writing. Businesses that do not comply could lose contracts and be investigated for violating the federal False Claims Act. The groups in their lawsuit claim that Trump's order ​wrongly presumes that all DEI amounts to illegal racial discrimination and extends to speech protected by the US Constitution. But Abelson said its definition of unlawful conduct was narrower. "The Contractors Order only prohibits contractors from engaging in conduct that is already prohibited by federal law: intentional discrimination on the basis of race or ethnicity," wrote Abelson, an appointee of President Joe Biden, a Democrat.