Within the first 48 hours of being sworn into office in 2025, the Trump administration issued two Executive Orders: "Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing" (EO 14151) and "Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity" (EO 14173). For almost a year, a nationwide injunction enjoined provisions of the EOs in National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE) v. Trump. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit vacated this on February 6, 2026, removing barriers to the administration terminating grants inconsistent with its priorities and requiring grant recipients to “sign off” that they do not have any programs in place which violate federal anti-discrimination law. According to the decision, plaintiffs can still challenge funding terminations through as-applied challenges. Other grant termination challenges are working their way through courts across the country, including a pending Ninth Circuit decision. Meanwhile, the administration has continued to scrutinize DEI through a whole-of-government approach with serious implications on nearly every industry and sector of society.  

Please join us for this audio-only briefing, in which Josh Richards, Partner at Saul Ewing LLP, will provide a legal update and practical insights on what recent decisions and federal activity mean for the work of higher education lawyers and the institutions they represent.