A federal judge in Maryland gave yet another loss to President Donald Trump on Thursday, deciding against one of his administration's signature anti-diversity policies, Newsweek reported.
The judge in question is one of his own appointees.
"U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher of Maryland, appointed by President Donald Trump in 2019 during his first term, ruled that the Education Department acted unlawfully when it threatened to withhold federal funding from institutions that continued DEI initiatives," reported Gabe Whisnant. Gallagher's ruling "came in response to a motion for summary judgment filed by the American Federation of Teachers and the American Sociological Association, which sued in February."
Under that order, schools receiving federal funding are compelled to stop what the Department of Education refers to as "race-based decision-making" — part of a broader assault by the Trump administration on policies that promote diversity in education and the workforce.
Democracy Forward, which represented the coalition in the lawsuit, issued a statement about the ruling on Thursday.
“Today’s final judgment by a federal court affirms what we and the plaintiffs in this case have long known: the Trump-Vance administration’s crusade against civil rights, equity, and inclusion is unlawful and threatens all Americans," they said. "This is an invaluable decision that will have a sweeping and positive impact on public schools, teachers, and students. Threatening teachers and sowing chaos in schools throughout America is part of the Trump-Vance administration’s war on education, and today the people won. While the fight to protect public education is far from over, today’s ruling is an important victory.”
This is the second time this week that a Trump-appointed federal judge handed the president a blow — on Monday, D.C.-based U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich held the Trump administration illegally blocked millions of dollars Congress appropriated for the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a nonprofit that supports the cause of democracy worldwide.
It also comes as Trump is staring down another huge legal hurdle, as a federal judge on Wednesday seemed hostile to Trump's highly unusual lawsuit suing the entire federal bench of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, after judges on that court limited his ability to make deportations in the state.
