Michigan AG joins federal lawsuit challenging Trump's DEI prohibition on federal contractors

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(Michigan Advance) Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, along with 20 other state attorneys general, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against the Trump administration, challenging an executive order that prohibits federal contractors from engaging “in any racially discriminatory DEI activities.”

The executive order, signed March 26, aligns with the Trump administration’s broader attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and defines banned DEI programs as “disparate treatment based on race or ethnicity in the recruitment, employment (e.g., hiring, promotions), contracting (e.g., vendor agreements), program participation, or allocation or deployment of an entity’s resources.”

The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Maryland, challenges this, arguing that “the prescribed contract term is unclear and does not provide sufficient explanation of what it prohibits,” specifically that “neither the Executive Order nor agency actions implementing it have provided any useful explanation of whether or how the contract term imposes requirements different from existing provisions of law.”

The lawsuit also alleges that the federal agencies who implemented the executive order violated the Administrative Procedure Act by not providing notice to the public or accepting public comments on the change, as well as arguing that the executive order exceeds the legal authority of the agencies. .....................(more)

https://michiganadvance.com/briefs/michigan-ag-joins-federal-lawsuit-challenging-trumps-dei-prohibition-on-federal-contractors/

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1. Dana Nessel has earned my respect

Fair but tough AG.