A divided federal appeals court upheld an injunction requiring the CIA and ODNI to give the officers reassignment and internal appeal options before termination.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A federal appeals court on Thursday blocked the Trump administration from moving forward with the firings of 19 intelligence officers who had been assigned to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility-related positions.
In a 2-1 ruling, a panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, upheld a lower court injunction that required the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to follow internal procedures before terminating the officers.
The ruling means the agencies must provide the employees a chance to seek reassignment to other positions and pursue internal appeals before any dismissal can proceed.
The employees were among 58 CIA and ODNI officers placed on paid administrative leave because of their assignments to DEI programs. They remain on leave.
U.S. Circuit Judge Nicole Berner wrote for the majority, saying the Constitution’s due process protections require federal agencies to follow their own binding regulations.
Among the protections of the Fifth Amendment “is the requirement that no person be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law,” Berner wrote.
“This promise of due process has been construed to require federal government agencies to adhere to their own binding regulations,” she added.
The firings stemmed from President Donald Trump’s January 2025 executive order directing the federal government to eliminate DEI initiatives. Berner wrote that CIA Director John Ratcliffe and former Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard moved to terminate the officers as part of that directive.
But the court said the agencies were still bound by regulations requiring them to consider reassignment and allow internal appeals unless the employees were being dismissed because their access to classified information had been revoked.
The CIA and ODNI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Kevin Carroll, an attorney for the plaintiffs, welcomed the decision.
“We’re very grateful for the decision of the court,” Carroll said. “It recognizes that intelligence officers have due process rights under the Fifth Amendment.”
Both judges in the majority were appointed by Democratic presidents.
U.S. Circuit Judge Paul Niemeyer, who was appointed by President George H.W. Bush, dissented. He argued that the regulations cited by the plaintiffs were “irrelevant” because Congress gave intelligence agency directors broad authority to terminate employees.
“The preliminary injunction entered in this case is unlawful and should have been promptly vacated,” Niemeyer said. “Now, unfortunately, that can only be done by the Supreme Court, which I can hope will consider this wrongful intrusion, which has far-reaching and unfortunate precedential effects.”
The decision leaves the injunction in place while the legal fight continues, preventing the administration from immediately firing the 19 officers over their prior DEI-related assignments.
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