As we previously reported, on February 3, 2025, a federal judge in Baltimore issued a preliminary injunction blocking key provisions of President Donald Trump’s executive orders aimed at ending programs supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA).  

On Monday, the judge in that case issued an opinion clarifying that the preliminary injunction applies to and binds not only the defendants (other than the president), but “all other federal executive branch agencies, departments, and commissions, and their heads, officers, agents, and subdivisions directed pursuant to the J20 and J21 Orders.”

The opinion was issued in response to a motion filed by plaintiffs seeking “clarification” on the scope of the injunction.

In his opinion, the judge explained that because the directives Trump issued apply to all executive agencies, departments, and commissions, enjoining only the agencies specifically named in the suit would “fail to provide complete relief to Plaintiffs and their members themselves because, among other things, they are at risk of their speech being chilled by many non-named federal executive agencies, as Plaintiffs explain.”

As we previously noted, the Trump administration is appealing the preliminary injunction.