A federal judge has issued an order temporarily blocking President Donald Trump from firing 11 CIA officers linked to DEI programs.
The order was issued on Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Judge Trenga’s order delays the employees’ firing for at least five days.
Former CIA officer Kevin Carroll, a lawyer representing the CIA employees, filed the lawsuit on Monday.
Carroll argues that the 11 officers were on temporary assignments relating to DEI initiatives.
He insists that none of them had received poor performance reviews.
The order allows Trenga more time to weigh the legal arguments on both sides of the case.
The court notes that this is not a definitive ruling on the lawsuit.
In a statement, Carroll said:
“These people are being fired just because of an assumption that’s been made that they are leftists.”
The 11 officials are among 51 CIA employees who were placed on administrative leave shortly after Trump returned to the White House.
Trump signed an executive order purging DEI programs across the federal government.
The 51 officers were summoned to the visitors center, outside the agency’s high-security perimeter in Langley, Virginia.
They had their identification badges “seized,” Carroll said.
The officers were allegedly given three options that they were ordered to accept by 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
They could take retirement by October 1, resignation effective on Tuesday, or termination on May 20.
The options were allegedly revealed in copies of unclassified notices the officers were given that Reuters reviewed.
However, Reuters is a known leftist propaganda outlet so the information should be treated with caution.
Meanwhile, Trump’s administration is facing legal challenges against many of its efforts to combat DEI initiatives.
It comes as Trump faces fierce pushback against his efforts to purge government waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer funds.
Trump has also sought to cut funding for federal programs that aren’t in line with his administration’s priorities, leading to further legal battles.
The president’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, has also drawn a slew of lawsuits from Democrats and fired federal employees.
Democrats have been scrambling in panic as they desperately attempt to stop DOGE’s investigations.
Left-wing judges and Democrat prosecutors across the country have mobilized to stop DOGE from exposing any more waste and fraud in the federal government.
Nevertheless, Trump and Musk show no signs of giving up.
READ MORE – DOGE Uncovers ‘Untraceable’ Payment Line That Funneled $4.7 Trillion into Black Hole
