Higher education groups sue Trump over anti-diversity orders

Higher education groups are suing the Trump administration over its executive orders eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) positions in government and his threatening the loss of funding to institutions over the issue.  

The National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education and the American Association of University Professors, along with the city of Baltimore and a restaurant group, are asking the courts to block the implementation of the executive orders due to President Trump allegedly exceeding his authority under the Constitution.  

The executive orders Trump signed seek to remove all DEI programs and positions from the federal government and institutions connected to the government that receive federal funding. 

“In the United States, there is no king. The President can exercise only those powers the Constitution grants to the executive, and only in ways that do not violate the rights the Constitution grants to the American people. In his crusade to erase diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility from our country, President Trump cannot usurp Congress’s exclusive power of the purse, nor can he silence those who disagree with him by threatening them with the loss of federal funds and other enforcement actions,” the suit reads.  

Trump has threatened civil investigations and loss of funding to get institutions to comply and has called for investigation into DEI against schools with endowments over $1 billion. 

The Department of Education and other agencies will have to recommend “appropriate measures to encourage the private sector to end illegal discrimination and preferences, including DEI.”   

The Hill has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.  

Dozens of employees with the Education Department have been put on administrative leave due to Trump’s DEI executive orders, with the union representing the staffers saying many of them attended a DEI training hosted in 2019 during his first term.