Donald Trump’s own appointed judge just turned on him in his war

A federal judge in Baltimore, who was appointed to her position by President Donald Trump, has dealt a major legal blow to his administration’s efforts to target diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. The ruling, made in response to a request for summary judgment, states that the Education Department broke the law by trying to take away federal funding from public schools that keep running these initiatives.

The judge, Stephanie Gallagher, explained in her ruling that while the administration is allowed to have its own opinions, it can’t break the law. Gallagher said, “The administration is entitled to express its viewpoints and to promulgate policies aligned with those viewpoints, but it must do so within the procedural bounds Congress has outlined. And it may not do so at the expense of constitutional rights.” 

This decision follows similar rulings from other federal courts earlier in the year that had already temporarily blocked the anti-DEI push. Gallagher continued, “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.”

Trump’s own judge turned on him

The Education Department’s memos had warned schools to stop all race-based decision-making or face harsh consequences, including the loss of federal funding. While the latest ruling does not immediately change the situation, since the department’s efforts were already on hold due to earlier court orders, it makes a final, permanent declaration that the guidance was illegal. This means the legal fight will likely continue, as the government is expected to appeal.

Judge Gallagher wrote in her ruling that the government’s move was not just a harmless reminder about existing discrimination laws. Instead, she called it a major change in how the Education Department oversees educational practices and classroom content.

She found that this new approach has caused widespread fear among educators, who now worry they could be punished for speech and activities that are both legal and potentially valuable. The lawsuit that led to this ruling was filed in February by a group of organizations, including the American Federation of Teachers and the American Sociological Association.

The Maryland ruling is not the only one of its kind. It matches an earlier decision from a federal judge in New Hampshire who also stopped the administration’s funding cuts. That judge, Landya McCafferty, similarly ruled that the actions were what she called “textbook viewpoint discrimination” and likely violated the First Amendment. In response to the latest court decision, the Education Department said it was disappointed but argued that the ruling does not prevent it from enforcing Title VI protections.