Baltimore Mayor Attacks DEI Opponents: ‘Attempt To Scapegoat Diversity’

Baltimore Democratic Mayor Brandon Scott, elected in 2020, attacked President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting the DEI movement, saying he and other DEI advocates would “fight it with every legal tool available to us.”

“The Left’s divisive focus on DEI policies undermines decades of progress toward true equality,” White House spokesperson Harrison Fields has stated. “The Trump administration rejects this backward thinking and will pursue an agenda that lifts everyone up with the chance to achieve the American Dream.”

In a news release on Tuesday celebrating “Black History Month,” Scott wrote: “Some have chosen to intentionally misconstrue the goals of DEI initiatives and chosen to attempt to scapegoat diversity for any and every challenge facing our nation. This brazenly political attack only underscores the necessity for proactive measures to protect and promote the value that our diversity brings.”

Scott has joined a lawsuit targeting Trump and other Cabinet officials, naming Trump’s Executive Orders 14151, “Ending Radical Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” and Executive Order 14173, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.”

The lawsuit claimed, “President Trump’s history and explicit call to dismantle anything connected to DEI presses the question of which ‘programs promoting DEI’ President Trump views as ‘illegal.’ … The President has made clear—during both his campaign and his previous administration—that his goal is to punish those who recognize or choose to speak out about this country’s history on issues of enslavement, racial exclusion, health disparities, gender inequality, treatment of individuals with disabilities, and discrimination. President Trump wishes to see the end of all diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility programs of any kind whatsoever.”

Speaking of Baltimore, the lawsuit stated, “The diversity of the city is its strength,” adding, “Baltimore receives $250 million in federal funds under the Justice40 Initiative intended to benefit disadvantaged communities.”

Of another plaintiff, the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE), the lawsuit revealed: “NADOHE’s institutional members with endowments greater than $1 billion and those institutions’ diversity officers are under threat from the J21 Order’s requirement for agencies to identify targets for civil compliance investigations.”