Judge blocks Trump’s anti-DEI measures

A federal judge has blocked two efforts by President Donald Trump to combat diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in schools.  

This time, according to Newsweek, the judge involved in blocking a Trump initiative is U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher.

What is interesting about Gallagher is that she was appointed by Trump himself. What is perhaps even more interesting is that back in 2015, she was nominated to this same position by then-President Barack Obama.

This raises several questions, including why it was that Trump approved the nomination of a judge who was previously approved by Obama. At this point, we do not know the answer to this question.

Here’s what’s going on:

President Trump has been combating DEI in several different ways. In this case, Trump threatened to take funding away from schools with such programs.

The Hill reports:

Earlier in the year, the Trump administration issued a “Dear Colleague” letter for universities threatening to take funding if they don’t end “illegal” DEI efforts. Soon after, K-12 districts got a memo to certify they have no DEI practices in their schools.

The Trump administration was then hit with a lawsuit over the memos, which is how the case made it to Gallagher’s courtroom.

Now, Trump’s own appointee has handed him a couple of losses.

🚨 BREAKING: An Obama judge just unilaterally struck down and ended President Trump’s policies that eliminate DEI at universities.

She is now ensuring federal funding to schools with DEI.

U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher thinks she is president. IT HAS TO STOP. pic.twitter.com/6ccFBXvewA

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 14, 2025

The memos were unconstitutional?

This is what Gallagher is claiming.

In her ruling, she wrote:

Plaintiffs have shown that neither challenged agency action was promulgated in accordance with the procedural requirements of the APA, and that both actions run afoul of important constitutional rights.

That’s not all.

Gallagher also wrote:

The government did not merely remind educators that discrimination is illegal. It initiated a sea change in how the Department of Education regulates educational practices and classroom conduct, causing millions of educators to reasonably fear that their lawful, and even beneficial, speech might cause them or their schools to be punished. The regulation of speech cannot be done casually.

The question now is whether or not the Trump Department of Justice (DOJ) is going to pursue an appeal. We think that there is a strong likelihood of this, but, at the time of this writing, there has been no indication one way or the other from the administration.