Judge blocks administration from enforcing anti-diversity and anti-transgender executive orders
U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar said Monday that the federal government cannot force recipients to halt programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion or acknowledge the existence of transgender people in order to receive grant funding. The order will remain in effect while the legal case continues, although government lawyers will likely appeal.
The funding provisions "reflect an effort to censor constitutionally protected speech and services promoting DEI and recognizing the existence of transgender individuals," Tigar wrote.
He went on to say that the executive branch must still be bound by the Constitution in shaping its agenda and that even in the context of federal subsidies, "it cannot weaponize Congressionally appropriated funds to single out protected communities for disfavored treatment or suppress ideas that it does not like or has deemed dangerous."
The plaintiffs include health centers, LGBTQ+ services groups and the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Historical Society. All receive federal funding and say they cannot complete their missions by following the president's executive orders.
The San Francisco AIDS Foundation, one of the plaintiffs, said in 2023 it received a five-year grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to expand and enhance sexual health services, including the prevention of sexually transmitted infections. The $1.3 million project specifically targets communities disproportionately affected by sexual health disparities.
But in April, the CDC informed the nonprofit that it must "immediately terminate all programs, personnel, activities, or contracts" that promote DEI or gender ideology.
President Donald Trump has signed a flurry of executive orders since taking office in January, including ones to roll back transgender protections and stop DEI programs. Lawyers for the government say that the president is permitted to "align government funding and enforcement strategies" with his policies.
Plaintiffs say that Congress — and not the president — has the power to condition how federal funds are used, and that the executive orders restrict free speech rights.
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Times
25 minutes ago
- Times
Trump gave Putin the spotlight and left us all guessing
There was a rare sight on Friday: Donald Trump playing second fiddle. The US president seemed a little out of character as he shared a stage in Alaska with Vladimir Putin following three hours of talks. Rather than his usual bombastic self, Trump appeared rather demure, even a little shy, as he let Putin go first. As a Fox News anchor put it shortly after: 'There were a few things that were very unusual. You had Putin come out and address the press first. We are on US soil here.' Putin set the tone, switching to English to suggest that next time they met, they took the show to Mother Russia. The next thing: no questions. Usually, Trump cannot stop talking to the travelling press pack about anything and everything: world peace, Joe Biden, Jeffrey Epstein's staffing arrangements. But in the 12-minute press conference, and again later on Air Force One, he declined to stop for a group chat. Hacks had been told that if things went well, there would be an opportunity for a Q&A. Instead, 300 journalists travelled to Alaska to hear an uninterrupted history lesson from Putin. Trump wanted a breakthrough. Putin wanted a show. In the end, it seems it was Putin who got what he came for. The question is why Trump suddenly became camera-shy. Did he feel unprepared after the talks were cut short (closer to three hours than the planned six) and failed to lead to a breakthrough of a ceasefire? Or is this something else altogether: a new, more mature Trump who wanted to keep his cards close to his chest until he had spoken to President Zelensky and others? It was after he had left Alaska that Trump started to return to type. In a Truth Social post, he explained that after 'a great and very successful day' in Alaska he no longer wanted a ceasefire, despite talking about the need for one only a few hours before. Instead, he decided the bigger prize is Putin's own preference: a comprehensive peace deal. This is not, of course, the first time Trump has moved the goalposts or torn up a deadline. He has previously taken the view that US foreign policy ought to be unpredictable, leaving opponents guessing. But all the same, some of his closest allies are now guessing as to how this will all pan out. 'I took it as a display of strength towards a resolution,' says one Republican. While the public comments from European leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer, have been positive, there is growing pessimism about what that resolution may look like. 'The fear is that warm words on a security guarantee will be used to bully Zelensky into giving Putin what he wants,' says one figure close to the negotiations. 'Putin is currently claiming land that he has taken, plus more.' The audience that matters most to Trump politically is the one back home. Although there is less concern in the United States than in Europe about carving up Ukraine, Trump wants to show that he is a winner and a dealmaker. On that front, the trip was not immediately helpful. Even the usually friendly right-wing media have raised questions about the optics of gladhanding Putin — on a red carpet — while getting nothing material in the process. At least, not yet. 'This was the single worst American-Russian meeting in living memory,' says Joel Rubin, a former deputy assistant secretary of state in the Obama administration. 'It was a far cry from summits of the past. It began as two equals and ended as a lopsided affair where the target coming in' — namely Putin — 'was the victor. The world now has no idea what Donald Trump wants. And apparently, neither does he.' A senior Republican is more positive: 'This outcome is the best, as we didn't go backwards on our commitment to Ukraine. Now let's see how hard Putin hits Ukraine this week and how Trump reacts.' Trump eventually declared it a successful meeting (a 'ten') where they agreed to 'go directly to a peace agreement' rather than 'a mere ceasefire agreement'. He sees himself as a peacemaker. 'President Trump has brokered, on average, about one peace deal or ceasefire per month during his six months in office,' said Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, last month. 'It's well past time that President Trump was awarded the Nobel peace prize.' JD Vance, the vice-president, has long opposed funding the Ukraine conflict and led opposition in Congress under Biden. His views have not changed, even if he has softened his tone when dealing with European counterparts. This was very in tune with the Maga base, which explains why they were the most enthusiastic audience for the Trump-Putin meeting, sharing pictures of four F-35s and a B-2 Spirit bomber over Putin's head when he stepped on to American soil. 'He displayed military power. He flexed hugely on Putin and he pulled him in for the handshake,' says one Maga figure with links to the administration. They view the meeting as a welcome route out of a conflict the US should never have been involved in and the beginning of a pivot closer to Russia. For some in the base, they admire Putin's crusade for 'traditional values' and see Ukraine as overly liberal in comparison. Others dislike Zelensky personally, sometimes for his fashion choices but also as they associate him with Trump's first impeachment in 2019. (It was an infamous conversation with Zelensky that triggered it.) Then there is the fact that Hunter Biden, a Maga enemy, had business dealings with Ukraine. Those happiest about Trump's Putin bromance are those who are the most relaxed about the conflict ending at any cost. As journalists and foreign policy specialists critiqued Trump's summit, a tribal instinct kicked in with his base. The Maga influencer Charlie Kirk is among those to quote Putin approvingly for saying he would not have started the war if Trump had been in office. Though one insider admits: 'It's easy for Putin to say that now.' A Republican staffer adds: 'The vibe is very positive. The general vibe is that for three years no progress was made, and now there might finally be some progress.' Over the past few months, Republican voters seemed warm to Ukraine's cause, perhaps as Trump's language towards Putin hardened. 'Americans tend not to have strong, fixed opinions on foreign policy,' the Republican pollster Daron Shaw notes. 'They often follow cues from their party's leaders.' A recent poll conducted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs showed that 51 per cent of Republicans now support continued military assistance to Ukraine, a big jump from 30 per cent only five months ago. Of Maga Republicans, 49 per cent support military aid, compared with 57 per cent of non-Maga Republicans. On economic aid, only 35 per cent of Maga Republicans support it, compared with 57 per cent of non-Maga Republicans. So far, no one in the party has come out hard against Trump since the meeting. But it is the old-school Republicans who harbour the greatest concern about where this all might lead. 'Trump clearly expects Ukraine to give up significant territory,' says one senior Republican. 'European countries are arguing against that, and that will give Zelensky the room to object to Trump's proposed deal.' Longstanding Ukraine supporters such as Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican congressman from Pennsylvania, stress that no deal is possible without Zelensky. 'This simple fact remains: true and lasting security can only be achieved with our allies, most importantly with Ukraine, at the table,' he says. 'Ukraine's sovereignty and freedom are not bargaining chips. They are principles that must be defended.' Lindsey Graham hedged his bets, saying the Russia-Ukraine war could end before Christmas — but only if Zelensky joins the next round of Putin-Trump talks. Graham, a Trump ally and staunch supporter of Ukraine, is viewed as a bellwether for the GOP. 'Make no mistake, this war is a war of aggression by Putin against Ukraine. However, I have always said Ukraine will not evict every Russian soldier and Putin is not going to take Kyiv,' Graham said in a post on social media platform X. 'The key to ending this war honorably and justly is to create an infrastructure of deterrence that Biden and Obama failed to do — which will prevent a third invasion.' In the end, Trump left Alaska with little beyond an extraordinary photo op: a Russian president on US soil, a stealth bomber overhead and a press corps denied its questions. Whether this becomes the start of a grand bargain or another dead end in US diplomacy depends on what he does next. For now, America's allies are left guessing. And so, perhaps, is Trump himself.
The Herald Scotland
39 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
PM to speak with allies, amid reports Trump mulling Russian land grab in Ukraine
The video conference of allies who plan to keep the peace in Ukraine comes ahead of Volodymyr Zelensky's White House meeting with Donald Trump on Monday. The one-on-one in the Oval Office could pave the way for a three-way meeting alongside Russian leader Mr Putin, the US President has said. The Russian and American leaders met on Friday at a military base in Anchorage, Alaska, for a summit to broker an end to the war in Ukraine. Several news outlets have cited sources which claimed that during the negotiations Mr Putin demanded full control of Donetsk and Luhansk – two occupied Ukrainian regions – as a condition for ending the war. President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin held a press conference in Anchorage, Alaska (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) In exchange, he would give up other Ukrainian territories held by Russian troops. Other outlets reported that Mr Trump is inclined to support the plan, and will speak to Mr Zelensky about it on Monday when they meet in the Oval Office. Sir Keir commended Mr Trump's 'pursuit of an end to the killing' following a phone call with the US President, Mr Zelensky and Nato allies on Saturday morning. But he insisted Ukraine's leader must not be excluded from future talks to broker a peace in Ukraine. The Prime Minister and European leaders appeared increasingly confident that Mr Trump will offer a 'security guarantee' of air support to back up allied troops on the ground in Ukraine, should they be deployed to keep the peace. In this photo taken and distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, a Russian tank fires during a practice at a training ground during on an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP) But Mr Trump also appeared to have a change of heart on what he wants to achieve from the talks, indicating that he wants a permanent peace settlement rather than a ceasefire, echoing the sentiment of Mr Putin. The Alaska summit was 'timely' and 'useful', Mr Putin said after he left. Experts have warned the face-to-face summit has risked legitimising the Russian leader, who has been made a pariah by the international community for invading Ukraine. Ukraine's President Mr Zelensky warned Russia may ramp up its strikes against his country in the coming days 'in order to create more favourable political circumstances for talks with global actors'.
Western Telegraph
an hour ago
- Western Telegraph
PM to speak with allies, amid reports Trump mulling Russian land grab in Ukraine
The Prime Minister, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will host the coalition of the willing on Sunday afternoon. The video conference of allies who plan to keep the peace in Ukraine comes ahead of Volodymyr Zelensky's White House meeting with Donald Trump on Monday. The one-on-one in the Oval Office could pave the way for a three-way meeting alongside Russian leader Mr Putin, the US President has said. The Russian and American leaders met on Friday at a military base in Anchorage, Alaska, for a summit to broker an end to the war in Ukraine. Several news outlets have cited sources which claimed that during the negotiations Mr Putin demanded full control of Donetsk and Luhansk – two occupied Ukrainian regions – as a condition for ending the war. President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin held a press conference in Anchorage, Alaska (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) In exchange, he would give up other Ukrainian territories held by Russian troops. Other outlets reported that Mr Trump is inclined to support the plan, and will speak to Mr Zelensky about it on Monday when they meet in the Oval Office. Sir Keir commended Mr Trump's 'pursuit of an end to the killing' following a phone call with the US President, Mr Zelensky and Nato allies on Saturday morning. But he insisted Ukraine's leader must not be excluded from future talks to broker a peace in Ukraine. The Prime Minister and European leaders appeared increasingly confident that Mr Trump will offer a 'security guarantee' of air support to back up allied troops on the ground in Ukraine, should they be deployed to keep the peace. In this photo taken and distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, a Russian tank fires during a practice at a training ground during on an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP) But Mr Trump also appeared to have a change of heart on what he wants to achieve from the talks, indicating that he wants a permanent peace settlement rather than a ceasefire, echoing the sentiment of Mr Putin. The Alaska summit was 'timely' and 'useful', Mr Putin said after he left. Experts have warned the face-to-face summit has risked legitimising the Russian leader, who has been made a pariah by the international community for invading Ukraine. Ukraine's President Mr Zelensky warned Russia may ramp up its strikes against his country in the coming days 'in order to create more favourable political circumstances for talks with global actors'.
