Attorney General Phil Weiser backs challenge to executive orders unlawfully targeting diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility

May 15, 2025 (DENVER) – Attorney General Phil Weiser today, as part of a coalition of 18 state attorneys general, filed a court brief supporting a legal challenge to two of President Trump’s executive orders targeting diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility initiatives.

Attorney General Weiser and the coalition filed their amicus brief in National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education v. Trump before the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. In the case, higher education associations and the city of Baltimore challenged vague provisions in the executive orders that direct federal agencies to terminate “equity-related grants or contracts” and to include in contracts or grant awards a requirement that recipients certify that they do not operate programs promoting “diversity, equity and inclusion.”

One of the orders also directed the U.S. Attorney General to encourage the private sector to end diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The administration has not defined critical terms in the executive orders, including which diversity, equity and inclusion practices it finds objectionable.

“The Trump administration’s efforts to unwind the progress we have made towards advancing equal opportunity for all Americans is a government-sanctioned intimidation campaign designed to undermine our civil rights laws,” said Attorney General Weiser. “Attempts to sow division and stoke fear to create a less inclusive society are wrong, and supporting the plaintiffs in this case is just one way I am continuing to defend programs that aim to remove barriers to equal opportunity.”

In their brief, the attorneys general maintain that diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility programs are lawful and beneficial. In fact, many such programs ensure compliance with state and federal civil rights statutes. The attorneys general also explain how the challenged provisions in the executive orders harm the states, as well as their residents and businesses, by denying them the many valuable benefits associated with workplaces, schools and communities that have adopted practices related to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.

Read the brief filed today (PDF).

Attorney General Weiser was joined in filing the brief by the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

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