Latest news with #AmericaFirstLegal
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump-aligned legal group fights to restore merit-based federal hiring
FIRST ON FOX — A legal group closely aligned with President Donald Trump is joining a federal court battle in Washington, D.C., to overturn a Carter-era consent decree that bars the government from using merit-based hiring, a resolution that, if overturned, would dissolve one of the most influential civil service decisions of the last 40 years. The America First Legal Foundation (AFL), a group aligned with Trump, has filed a federal complaint in Washington, D.C., that aims to dismantle what it calls a dated and illegal effort to promote diversity in federal hiring that sidelines more qualified candidates. "America is missing out on top talent because of an illegal, 44-year-old consent decree," Nick Barry, senior counsel at AFL, told Fox News Digital. "We must move back to merit-based evaluations. Race and other immutable traits have no place in that process." Judge On Warpath Presses Trump Doj On Abrego Garcia Deportation, Answers Leave Courtroom In Stunned Silence The lawsuit targets the Luevano consent decree, an agreement that Black and Hispanic plaintiffs struck with the government under President Jimmy Carter in 1981. The settlement ended merit-based hiring practices for federal government agencies and required written tests to be replaced with alternative assessments. Critics of these alternative assessments, including AFL and the firm Boyden Gray, PLLC, which joined the complaint, argue they are clunky and outdated solutions that illegally promote an unfair system of race-based hiring. Read On The Fox News App "We must move back to merit-based evaluations," Barry added. "Race, color and other immutable characteristics have no place in that evaluation." The Office of Personnel Management had previously asked the court to end the Carter-era system, an effort that AFL and Boyden Gray now join, arguing it violates Supreme Court precedent. "Being able to recruit the best and brightest to work in Washington returns dividends for the country by doing more with less," AFL Vice President Dan Epstein told Fox News Digital. "That is what all Americans deserve from their government." AFL's backing could bring new momentum to OPM's attempt to end these hiring practices in the federal government. But it's also likely to be met with a fair degree of criticism. Though efforts to end or replace the 40-year-old alternative assessment systems aren't exactly radical, the filing comes as the Trump administration continues to clash with government employees over agency budget cuts and workforce reductions. The case, if heard in court, could reignite debate across the country over race-conscious hiring practices. 100 Days Of Injunctions, Trials And 'Teflon Don': Trump Second Term Meets Its Biggest Tests In Court America First Legal, though not officially part of the Trump administration, was founded by longtime Trump advisor Stephen Miller, one of Trump's most vocal advocates for tougher immigration enforcement, dismantling DEI programs and ending affirmative action in public education. Miller stepped down from AFL before rejoining the White House in 2025. The effort also comes at a time when many federal agencies have struggled to cope with a massive loss of personnel and institutional knowledge due to funding cuts and other orders from DOGE, the quasi-government efficiency agency headed up by billionaire Elon Musk. Still, AFL sees its effort as supporting OPM and ending what it argues is a virtually "impossible" standard to create a broadly used merit-based civil service exam. Click To Get The Fox News App "Public service is a public trust," Epstein said. "Presidential administrations from both parties have long advocated ending unaccountable bureaucracies that fail to do a good turn for the American people." Neither OPM nor the White House immediately responded to Fox News's request for comment on the new court filing or on their views on the existing hiring article source: Trump-aligned legal group fights to restore merit-based federal hiring
Fox News
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Trump-aligned legal group fights to restore merit-based federal hiring
FIRST ON FOX — A legal group closely aligned with President Donald Trump is joining a federal court battle in Washington, D.C., to overturn a Carter-era consent decree that bars the government from using merit-based hiring, a resolution that, if overturned, would dissolve one of the most influential civil service decisions of the last 40 years. The America First Legal Foundation (AFL), a group aligned with Trump, has filed a federal complaint in Washington, D.C., that aims to dismantle what it calls a dated and illegal effort to promote diversity in federal hiring that sidelines more qualified candidates. "America is missing out on top talent because of an illegal, 44-year-old consent decree," Nick Barry, senior counsel at AFL, told Fox News Digital. "We must move back to merit-based evaluations. Race and other immutable traits have no place in that process." The lawsuit targets the Luevano consent decree, an agreement that Black and Hispanic plaintiffs struck with the government under President Jimmy Carter in 1981. The settlement ended merit-based hiring practices for federal government agencies and required written tests to be replaced with alternative assessments. Critics of these alternative assessments, including AFL and the firm Boyden Gray, PLLC, which joined the complaint, argue they are clunky and outdated solutions that illegally promote an unfair system of race-based hiring. "We must move back to merit-based evaluations," Barry added. "Race, color and other immutable characteristics have no place in that evaluation." The Office of Personnel Management had previously asked the court to end the Carter-era system, an effort that AFL and Boyden Gray now join, arguing it violates Supreme Court precedent. "Being able to recruit the best and brightest to work in Washington returns dividends for the country by doing more with less," AFL Vice President Dan Epstein told Fox News Digital. "That is what all Americans deserve from their government." AFL's backing could bring new momentum to OPM's attempt to end these hiring practices in the federal government. But it's also likely to be met with a fair degree of criticism. Though efforts to end or replace the 40-year-old alternative assessment systems aren't exactly radical, the filing comes as the Trump administration continues to clash with government employees over agency budget cuts and workforce reductions. The case, if heard in court, could reignite debate across the country over race-conscious hiring practices. America First Legal, though not officially part of the Trump administration, was founded by longtime Trump advisor Stephen Miller, one of Trump's most vocal advocates for tougher immigration enforcement, dismantling DEI programs and ending affirmative action in public education. Miller stepped down from AFL before rejoining the White House in 2025. The effort also comes at a time when many federal agencies have struggled to cope with a massive loss of personnel and institutional knowledge due to funding cuts and other orders from DOGE, the quasi-government efficiency agency headed up by billionaire Elon Musk. Still, AFL sees its effort as supporting OPM and ending what it argues is a virtually "impossible" standard to create a broadly used merit-based civil service exam. "Public service is a public trust," Epstein said. "Presidential administrations from both parties have long advocated ending unaccountable bureaucracies that fail to do a good turn for the American people." Neither OPM nor the White House immediately responded to Fox News's request for comment on the new court filing or on their views on the existing hiring practices.
New York Post
13-05-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Judge who ruled against Trump funding freeze has ties to taxpayer-funded homeless org
A Rhode Island federal judge who blocked President Trump's sweeping freeze on federal assistance earlier this year has been slapped with a complaint from a conservative legal group alleging that he could benefit from his decision. Providence US District Judge John McConnell sat on the board of Crossroads Rhode Island, a homeless services provider that has benefited from federal assistance, from 2006 to at least 2023, the nonprofit's tax records show. Between 2011 and 2021, the judge served as the board's chairman. America First Legal, which began digging into McConnell's past after he issued a preliminary injunction halting Trump's freeze earlier this year, argued in a complaint filed to the Boston-based 1st Circuit Court of Appeals that the judge's ties to Crossroads pose a conflict of interest. The Trump-aligned legal group is pleading with the appeals court to 'take all appropriate action to resolve these issues.' 4 US District Judge John McConnell was hit by a conflict of interest complaint Tuesday. US District Court RI 4 President Trump and Elon Musk have endeavored to slash government waste and bloat. Getty Images 'Despite his long-time entanglement with this federally funded organization, Judge McConnell did not recuse himself,' America First Legal wrote in a 13-page complaint obtained by The Post. 'His failure to do so may violate federal law and judicial canons of ethics, raises profound concerns about Judge McConnell's judgment as an officer of the court, and his fitness for the bench.' A spokesperson for Crossroads and McConnell told The Post that the judge left the organization's board in May 2024. Since 2010, Crossroads has taken in at least $15.4 million in federal grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, including at least $2.2 million this year alone, according to public records cited in the complaint. Over the last 12 years, Crossroads has received at least $18.7 million from state and local grants, including at least $4.5 million this year. In 2023, government funding accounted for roughly 64.7% of Crossroads' roughly $28.78 million in revenue, according to numbers calculated from its Form 990 tax document. Overall, America First Legal claims that Crossroads has reaped $128 million in government cash during McConnell's tenure on its board. The Post was not able to independently verify that sum. A spokesperson for McConnell declined to comment on the complaint. 4 Crossroads Rhode Island has received millions of dollars from the feds over the years. Crossroads Rhode Island America First Legal pointed to judicial canons that warn 'a judge's obligation under this Code and the judge's obligation as a fiduciary may come into conflict.' McConnell has been criticized by allies of the president over his ruling. Back in January, the Office of Personnel Management issued a controversial and since-rescinded memo calling for a pause on certain types of 'federal financial assistance' while permitting exemptions on a 'case-by-case basis.' Officials claimed that the freeze would not impact Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security and that the halt was merely intended to give the Trump administration time to parse through federal outlays. Days after issuing the memo, Trump's budget team rescinded it, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified that pulling back the memo did not lead to 'rescission of the federal funding freeze.' As a result, a group of 23 states and the District of Columbia forged ahead with a lawsuit against the Trump administration. The state of Rhode Island, which provided funding to Crossroads, was among the two dozen plaintiffs in the lawsuit. McConnell, an Obama-appointed judge, issued a temporary injunction on the freeze in January and determined a month last that OPM had not fully complied with his order to free up all the funding. At the time, McConnell held that the 'extraordinary and drastic remedy' was necessary because 'the States rely on federal funds to provide and maintain vital programs and services.' 4 President Trump's legal team is fighting in court to reverse the order blocking the funding freeze for federal aid. AP In March, the judge went a step further and issued an indefinite preliminary injunction against the Trump administration while litigation over the attempted pause on federal assistance played out. 'The executive's categorical freeze of appropriated and obligated funds fundamentally undermines the distinct constitutional roles of each branch of our government,' McConnell wrote in his order at the time. 'The interaction of the three co-equal branches of government is an intricate, delicate, and sophisticated balance — but it is crucial to our form of constitutional governance. Here, the executive put itself above Congress.' Last month, the Trump administration revealed in court documents that it was appealing McConnell's order. 'While a careful analysis of judicial decisions is always warranted, it should avoid ad hominem partisanship and sensationalist rhetoric that are favored on the internet and in television soundbites,' Rhode Island Bar Association President Christopher Gontarz said in a statement earlier this year defending the judge. 'Judge McConnell is a well-respected jurist. The Rhode Island Bar Association stands firmly in support of Judge McConnell.' Separately, the Trump administration is working to defang the lower courts' ability to issue broad, sweeping national injunctions against the president's actions. Later this month, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the Trump administration's bid to quash injunctions against the president's executive order ending birthright citizenship. That case is expected to test the power lower courts have to issue nationwide pauses on presidential actions.
USA Today
01-05-2025
- Business
- USA Today
'We are going to have a system of merit': Trump White House vows to kill DEI
'We are going to have a system of merit': Trump White House vows to kill DEI Show Caption Hide Caption 100 days of Trump: 3 key changes impacting people across America 100 days after returning to power, Donald Trump is charging ahead with tariffs, an immigration crackdown and federal cuts, including dismantling DEI. The White House put corporate America on notice that President Donald Trump plans to replace diversity, equity and inclusion with a 'system of merit.' Appearing alongside press secretary Karoline Leavitt during a Thursday morning briefing, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller trumpeted the president's efforts to dismantle DEI in the federal government and the private sector. "This administration is not going to let our society devolve into communist, woke, DEI strangulation," Miller said. "It's not just a social and cultural issue, it's an economic issue,' he continued. 'When you hire, retain and recruit based on merit as President Trump has directed, you advance innovation, you advance growth, you advance investment, you advance job creation." Trump's anti-DEI campaign began during his first term but is in hyperdrive in his second. He has purged diversity initiatives in the federal government and the military, threatened to strip billions of dollars in federal funding and grants from universities and pressured major corporations to roll back diversity initiatives or risk losing federal contracts. His actions have led to widespread changes in diversity programs at major corporations across the country. Leavitt told reporters Trump is standing by 'the constitution's promise of colorblind equality.' 'DEI seeks to divide and pit Americans against each other based on immutable characteristics. President Trump put an end to it,' she said. 'In President Trump's America, individual dignity, hard work and excellence are the only things that will determine if you get ahead.' Trump wants to destroy DEI. But is America really giving up 'woke ideology?' DEI initiatives to increase the persistently low percentage of female, Black and Hispanic executives took firmer hold after George Floyd's 2020 murder forced a historic reckoning with racial disparities in America. Between 2020 and 2022, the number of Black executives rose by nearly 27% in S&P 100 companies, according to a USA TODAY analysis of workforce data collected by the federal government. That momentum drew a forceful backlash. In 2023, the ranks of Black executives fell 3% from the prior year at twice the rate of White executives, USA TODAY found. Chief among the DEI critics was Miller, a veteran of Trump's first administration. His America First Legal advocacy organization issued a slew of legal challenges objecting to common practices such as setting diversity hiring targets. Those targets, Miller said, were illegal racial quotas for women and people of color. "We are going to have a system of merit," Miller said Thursday. DEI proponents say DEI is not at odds with merit. In fact, they say, DEI is critical to build systems that ensure individuals are rewarded on merit alone. 'The highest-performing organizations know that having a meritocracy means you need to make sure that diverse candidates have the same chance to show their merit as others,' Paul Argenti, a professor of corporate communication at Dartmouth, wrote in a LinkedIn post championing the business case for diversity. USA TODAY reported Thursday that the business world does not appear ready to give up DEI despite the growing pressure from the Trump administration. Even as some corporations scrap commitments, others including Costco, Marriott, Starbucks and Cisco, have publicly defended DEI. The 'silent majority' is continuing the work despite growing political pressure to defund DEI, sociology professor Donald Tomaskovic-Devey told USA TODAY. Just 8% of business leaders surveyed by the Littler law firm are seriously considering changes to their DEI programs as a result of the Trump administration's executive orders. Nearly half said they do not have plans for new or further rollbacks. 'The vast majority of organizations have simply gone quiet, neither retreating from or defending their DEI programs in the public square,' said Tomaskovic-Devey, who runs the Center for Employment Equity at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump's Top Policy Adviser Says Schools Must Teach Children 'to Love America' if They Want Federal Funding
One of President Donald Trump's top advisers gave a briefing on Thursday, May 1, about the state of the Department of Education, leveling threats at schools that he claims 'promote communist ideology.' Stephen Miller, Trump's homeland security adviser and deputy chief of staff for policy, outlined the Trump administration's plans to eliminate critical race theory from schools, saying, "For any nation to be successful, it cannot teach its children to hate themselves and their country." "Children will be taught to love America. Children will be taught to be patriots," Miller said. "Children will be taught civic values for schools that want federal taxpayer funding." Related: Trump Wants to Eliminate the Department of Education: What That Means for American Schools On March 20, Trump signed an executive order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin taking steps to dismantle the Department of Education to the extent that she is able. The plan, according to Trump's directive, is to 'return authority over education to the States and local communities while ensuring the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.' As funding is returned to the states, Miller clarified in Thursday's briefing, the Trump administration plans to withhold it from any schools they believe are promoting 'communist ideology." "These are a few of the areas in which President Trump has fought the cancerous, communist, woke culture which is destroying this country," he said. "Where we were led to believe that men were women and that women were men, where racial discrimination was good and merit was bad, and that safety and physical security mattered less than liberal ideologues." The comments from Miller — who has espoused white nationalist views and whose organization America First Legal was initially listed on the advisory board of Project 2025 — send a message similar to the one he gave while introducing Trump at a campaign rally in October 2024. "You have a right to love the community you grew up in," he told the crowd in Aurora, Colorado. "You have a right to love your neighbors as they are. You have a right to want a country that is of, by and for Americans, and only Americans." Related: How Could a Department of Education Shutdown Impact Book Bans? Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Miller also told reporters on Thursday that the Department of Justice is currently coordinating with law enforcement to push back against what he called "child abuse" in American school systems. "It is child abuse to change a child's gender, particularly if you do not inform the parents,' he said. 'If a 5-year-old or 6-year-old goes to school, or a 7-year-old goes to school, and the teacher tries to turn the boy into a girl or a girl into a boy that is child abuse, and this administration is treating that as child abuse and a gross violation of parental rights." Read the original article on People
