Seattle sues Trump to protect DEI and LGBTQ+ policies from executive order threats

The City of Seattle is taking President Donald Trump and his administration to court over two executive orders that threaten diversity and inclusive gender identity policies.

The lawsuit, announced Thursday by Mayor Bruce Harrell and City Attorney Ann Davison, takes aim at two directives signed during the opening days of the second Trump administration — “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” and “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.”

"As the Trump administration continues to try to erase the letters 'DEI' from the alphabet, Seattle recognizes what diversity, equity, and inclusion actually mean: That giving every person a fair shot improves outcomes and a level playing field is one of the most basic principles of a strong and just America," Mayor Harrell said. "When Trump unlawfully tries to withhold critical federal funding by attacking access to opportunity and our LGBTQ+ community, we will pursue every avenue to protect our people and our priorities."

City Attorney Davison said the two executive orders represent executive overreach and threaten to withhold federal funds from unrelated projects if the city does not comply with Trump’s demands.

“There are limits to presidential authority and no one, not even Mr. Trump, can ignore the constraints of the rule of law,” Davison said. “Federal law is not made by one person’s edicts, but by the legislative branch, and it is interpreted and applied by the judicial branch. These are coercive attempts at control by threatening federal funds and linking them to projects and initiatives that are entirely unrelated.”

The lawsuit, filed in Federal Court in the Western District of Washington, asks the court to declare the orders and the agency actions implementing them unlawful and unconstitutional. The suit also asks the court to prevent the administration from implementing and enforcing the orders against Seattle.

This is not the first lawsuit the city has filed against Trump and his administration. Seattle is part of a suit filed in February to protect self-declared “sanctuary cities” from federal retribution. Seattle is also among a number of cities and counties suing the Department of Homeland Security over its decision to freeze counterterrorism funding.