Federal Judge Clarifies Scope of Preliminary Injunction Enjoining President Trump’s DEI-Related Executive Orders

Quick Hits

• On February 21, 2025, a federal judge granted a nationwide preliminary injunction that enjoined key provisions of President Trump’s executive orders aimed at “illegal” DEI initiatives.
• On March 3, 2025, the judge refused to halt the preliminary injunction, pending the government’s appeal to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
• On March 10, 2025, the judge clarified that the preliminary injunction applies to all federal executive branch agencies, departments, and commissions, not just those that were specifically named in the complaint.

U.S. District Judge Adam B. Abelson clarified that the nationwide preliminary injunction enjoining the termination, certification, and enforcement provisions of EO 14151 and EO 14173 “applies to and binds Defendants other than the President, as well as all other federal executive branch agencies, departments, and commissions, and their heads, officers, agents, and subdivisions directed pursuant to” those executive orders.

The court’s February 21, 2025, preliminary injunction order defined the “Enjoined Parties” as “Defendants other than the President, and other persons who are in active concert or participation with Defendants.” The plaintiffs filed a motion to clarify the scope of the order. The government argued that the court lacked jurisdiction to rule on the motion, and that only the specific departments, agencies, and commissions named as additional defendants in the complaint were bound by the preliminary injunction. The complaint named the following defendants: the Office of Management and Budget, the U.S. Departments of Justice, Health and Human Services, Education, Labor, Interior, Commerce, Agriculture, Energy, and Transportation, along with the heads of those agencies (in their official capacities), the National Science Foundation, and President Trump in his official capacity. The government argued that including other departments, agencies, and commissions as enjoined parties would be inconsistent with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(d), Article III of the U.S. Constitution’s standing requirement, and traditional principles of equity and preliminary injunctive relief.

The court disagreed. First, according to the court, the plaintiffs have shown a likelihood of success on the merits that the termination, certification, and enforcement provisions are unconstitutional, so any agencies acting pursuant to those provisions “would be acting pursuant to an order that Plaintiffs have shown a strong likelihood of success in establishing is unconstitutional on its face.”

Second, the termination and certification provisions were directed to all agencies, the enforcement provision was directed to the U.S. Department of Justice, and the president was named as a defendant in the complaint; thus, the preliminary injunction (in both its original and clarified forms) “is tailored to the executive branch agencies, departments and commissions that were directed, and have acted or may act, pursuant to the President’s directives in the Challenged Provisions of” EO 14151 and EO 14173.

Third, only enjoining those agencies that were specifically named in the complaint, despite the fact that the president was named as a defendant, would provide incomplete relief to the plaintiffs because their speech is at risk of being chilled by non-named agencies as well. In addition, the court held that “[a]rtificially limiting the preliminary injunction in the way Defendants propose also would make the termination status of a federal grant, or the requirement to certify compliance by a federal contractor, turn on which federal executive agency the grantee or contractor relies on for current or future federal funding—even though the agencies would be acting pursuant to the exact same Challenged Provisions,” resulting in “‘inequitable treatment.’” Thus, the court granted the plaintiffs’ motion to clarify that the preliminary injunction applies to every agency in the executive branch.

Ogletree Deakins will continue to monitor developments and will provide updates on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Compliance, Employment Law, Government Contracting and Reporting, and Governmental Affairs blogs.

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