Overview

• U.S. District Judge William E. Smith issued a preliminary injunction on August 8 blocking enforcement of the Office on Violence Against Women’s new grant conditions pending full litigation
• The order halts requirements that nonprofits bar support for diversity, equity and inclusion, immigrants and transgender survivors just days before the August 12 application deadline
• Smith found the rulemaking process “vague and haphazard,” noting the agency offered no data or reasoned explanation for the restrictions
• Service providers faced a dilemma between risking False Claims Act enforcement by accepting the conditions and forfeiting essential funding by rejecting them
• The ruling is the latest judicial check on the Trump administration’s broader campaign to remove DEI and “gender ideology” initiatives from federal grant programs