The Trump administration played an illegal game of administrative whack-a-mole in order to fire certain federal workers, a lawsuit alleges.

During the first two days of his second term, President Donald Trump issued an executive order targeting "diversity, equity, and inclusion" (DEI) initiatives as well as a follow-up executive order framing the break with DEI as in line with commitments to civil rights law.

Each order, and associated implementing directive, seeks to broadly limit federal government funding to states, counties, municipalities, agencies, and contractors — with clampdowns focused on programs and entities deemed to be promoting DEI initiatives. A series of related executive orders also target programs and entities that work toward LGBTQ and transgender advocacy.

Now, in a

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