This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A federal appeals court has dumped a district judge's decision to block, nationwide, President Donald Trump's efforts to limit tax money being spent on the racist "diversity, equity and inclusion" programs within the federal government.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has lifted the block created by Judge Adam Abelson of Baltimore.
Trump had signed an order directing federal agencies to terminate "equity-related" grants or contracts and then followed up with an order requiring federal contractors to certify that they don't promote DEI programs, which often are based on race.
Abelson claimed Trump's pursuit of an ideology not based on race probably violated free speech rights.
The city of Baltimore and others had sued.
Now the 4th Circuit has reinstated Trump's orders to curb tax money being used on those programs. The ruling means that Trump's orders can be enforced while the lawsuit over them continues.
Abelson had made his injunction valid nationwide, part of a trend of lower court judges assuming the authority of the executive branch and making decisions for the entire nation, a move over which the U.S. Supreme Court already has expressed alarm.
The appeals court said Abelson's ruling simply went too far.
The Department of Justice said the president simply was targeting DEI programs that violate federal civil rights laws.
Republicans long have criticized DEI agendas because they undermine merit-based hiring and promotions, in which the best and most qualified candidate should get a job or promotion.
Constitutional scholar Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington University, explained that even Pamela Harris, a judge appointed by Biden, disagreed with the plaintiffs.
"The challenged Executive Orders, on their face, are of distinctly limited scope. The Executive Orders do not purport to establish the illegality of all efforts to advance diversity, equity or inclusion, and they should not be so understood," she wrote.
Further, she said, the orders "do not authorize the termination of grants based on a grantee's speech or activities outside the scope of the funded activities."
Turley noted that another panel judge, Albert Diaz, appointed by Barack Obama, went beyond the authority of the court to editorialize about his opinion.
Diaz claimed, "Despite the vitriol now being heaped on DEI, people of good faith who work to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion deserve praise, not opprobrium. When this country embraces true diversity, it acknowledges and respects the social identity of its people. When it fosters true equity, it opens opportunities and ensures a level playing field for all. And when its policies are truly inclusive, it creates an environment and culture where everyone is respected and valued. What could be more American than that?… A country does itself no favors by scrubbing the shameful moments of its past."
