A federal judge in California has dealt a blow to the Trump administration‘s effort to strip diversity and transgender recognition from grant funding.
U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar issued a nationwide injunction, ruling that the government cannot force nonprofits to halt programs promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion — or require them to deny the existence of transgender people — in order to receive federal grants.
Last spring, the CDC demanded that the San Francisco AIDS Foundation terminate its $1.3 million, five-year sexual health initiative targeting communities hardest hit by STIs if it continued DEI work or acknowledged transgender identities.
Plaintiffs — from health centers to the GLBT Historical Society — argue that the executive orders censor free speech and exceed presidential authority.
Tigar reminded the administration that even in the context of federal subsidies, it cannot weaponize appropriated funds to single out protected communities or suppress ideas it deems dangerous.
Click play to listen to the report from AURN White House Correspondent Ebony McMorris. For more news, follow @E_N_McMorris & @aurnonline.
