On March 14, the Fourth Circuit granted a stay of the preliminary injunction described below, pending appeal. This stay means that the named agencies may continue with proceedings based on the EOs until further litigation is concluded.
This follows the action on February 21, 2025, wherein a federal district judge granted a preliminary injunction on parts of two executive orders: Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Program and Preferencing (Sec. 2(b)(i) “Termination Provision”) and Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity (Sec. 3(b)(iv) “Certification Provision” and Sec. 4(b)(iii) “Enforcement provision”).
Under the preliminary injunction, the named agencies could not “a. pause, freeze, impede, block, cancel, or terminate any awards, contracts or obligations (“Current Obligations”), or change the terms of any Current Obligation, on the basis of the Termination Provision; b. require any grantee or contractor to make any “certification” or other representation pursuant to the Certification Provision.”
The agencies named as defendants in this case include the Departments of Education, Labor, Interior, Agriculture, Energy, Transportation, Justice, and Health & Human Services, National Science Foundation, and the Office of Management and Budget.