On March 14, a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted a February 21 temporary preliminary injunction on the White House’s January 21 Executive Order # 14173, which, as explained in this article, requires recipients of federal grants and contracts to certify that they do not operate illegal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.

In allowing the Executive Order to remain in effect, the Trump administration can proceed with its ban on DEI programs for those with federal business while the litigation further unfolds.

“Illegal DEI … policies,” the EO says, “not only violate the text and spirit of our longstanding Federal civil-rights laws, they also undermine our national unity, as they deny, discredit, and undermine the traditional American values of hard work, excellence, and individual achievement in favor of an unlawful, corrosive, and pernicious identity-based spoils system”–but the directive does not define what makes these policies illegal.

Keep up with this and other related news with our EO Compliance, Funding Freeze, and DOGE Updates serial post.