Filed Date: June 10, 2026
Clearinghouse coding in progress
[This summary is temporary while we research the case]. Twenty states and the District of Columbia filed this complaint on June 10, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland against the United States, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council and its members, and numerous federal departments and agencies. The lawsuit challenges Executive Order (EO) No. 14398, "Addressing DEI Discrimination by Federal Contractors," issued by President Trump on March 26, 2026, which directed all federal agencies to include contract clauses barring contractors from engaging in "racially discriminatory" diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) activities, and threatened noncompliance penalties including contract cancellation, suspension, debarment, and False Claims Act liability. The plaintiffs alleged that the FAR Council implemented the new contract terms on an expedited timetable without completing the notice-and-comment rulemaking required by 41 U.S.C. § 1707 and FAR Subpart 1.5. The plaintiffs further alleged the agency actions were arbitrary and capricious because the key definitions in EO 14398 were impermissibly vague, the order lacked factual basis, agencies failed to acknowledge the departure from the sixty-year regime established under EO 11246, and agencies failed to account for contractor reliance interests or consider obvious alternatives. The plaintiff states, which collectively held hundreds of federal contracts worth billions of dollars annually, sought vacatur of the challenged agency actions, preliminary and permanent injunctive relief, and a declaratory judgment that the actions are unauthorized, unlawful, and void.
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73465602/parties/state-of-maryland-v-hegseth/
California, State of (Maryland)
Colorado, State of (Maryland)
Connecticut, State of (Maryland)
HAWAI'I, STATE OF (Maryland)
ILLINOIS, STATE OF (Maryland)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73465602/state-of-maryland-v-hegseth/
Last updated June 15, 2026, 3:06 a.m.
State / Territory:
Case Type(s):
Public Accommodations/ Contracting/ Organizational Discrimination
Special Collection(s):
Trump Administration 2.0: Challenges to the Government
Key Dates
Filing Date: June 10, 2026
Case Details
Other Dockets:
District of Maryland 1:26-cv-02322
Case Summary of State of Maryland v. Hegseth, Civil Rights Litig. Clearinghouse, https://clearinghouse.net/case/48219/.