Trump says he "ended DEI." Courts disagree
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President Trump touted to raucous Republican applause during his State of the Union address this week that "We ended DEI in America."
- A year into Trump's crusade to eradicate "anti-white racism," some of the administration's most ambitious diversity, equity and inclusion rollbacks are stalled in court.
Why it matters: With Congress aligned with the White House, the judiciary has become the primary check for civil rights advocates who argue the administration is distorting long-standing equity laws.
- DEI policies are "being used as a sword, not a shield," Leah Watson, an ACLU racial justice program attorney, tells Axios.
The intrigue: DEI policies are intentionally broad to repair decades of discrimination, but the administration has declined to define what it considers illegal while warning of severe consequences, creating a chilling effect.
- Institutions often "anticipatorily comply," Watson said, eliminating programs, positions and offices to avoid scrutiny. "They want to fly under the radar. But, you cannot over comply with the Trump administration enough to fly under its radar."
- By leaving the term as an undefined "boogeyman," she added, the administration has been able to "kill" lawful DEI efforts that otherwise might not withstand court challenges.
In courtrooms across the country, judges are weighing in on cases related to education, the environment and employment.
- "Just because the Trump administration says DEI is dead does not make it so," Watson said.
Here are some of the ways courts have intervened:
Equal education
The Education Department issued a Valentine's Day 2025 "Dear Colleague" letter directing schools to roll back DEI policies, citing the Supreme Court's affirmative action ruling and warning that race-based efforts tied to diversity or equity are illegal.
- Some schools responded by canceling affinity events and scaling back diversity programs, advocates say.
- Courts have since blocked parts of the policy, and while the administration dropped one appeal, uncertainty over what's allowed persists — prompting moves like USC shutting down its inclusion office website and renaming DEI-related positions.
Whitewashing history
In February, a federal judge ordered the government to restore a Philadelphia slavery exhibit it had taken down, determining the administration cannot "disassemble historical truths."
Zoom out: It could strengthen a broader, ongoing challenge to the administration's efforts to revise historical content at other national parks.
Environmental justice
A South Carolina judge ordered the administration to unfreeze millions of dollars for projects geared to alleviate environmental pollution and build energy-efficient housing, given disproportionate environmental health burdens on Black communities.
"By protecting the communities that are most harmed, we make progress in actually protecting everyone," because pollution spreads over time, Chandra Taylor-Sawyer of the Southern Environmental Law Center tells Axios.
- The case is ongoing.
Employment opportunities
A federal appeals court in early February lifted a lower court order that had blocked parts of Trump's executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs, including directives affecting colleges and universities.
- The case, brought by higher education diversity officers, challenges orders requiring agencies to eliminate DEI-related offices and funding and to investigate programs tied to equity initiatives.
- The 4th Circuit said the plaintiffs were unlikely to succeed but did not endorse the policies, leaving room for future challenges to specific actions.
What they are saying: A White House spokesperson tells Axios the administration has "returned to the values of individual merit, dignity, hard work, and excellence."
- A Justice Department spokesperson told Axios in an emailed statement, the "DOJ's Civil Rights Division's focus is to ensure that ALL Americans enjoy the protections of our federal civil rights, not only a select few."
Go deeper: Trump's DEI crackdown is changing MLK Day
