President Donald Trump’s efforts to crackdown on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs suffered a major legal blow Thursday as three separate judges – two of them appointed by the president – ruled against a Department of Education policy.

U.S. District Judge Myong Joun, during a hearing in Boston expressed skepticism about the administration's arguments. Lawyers for the Republican administration disputed the contention that the mass termination, announced last month, of nearly half of the department's workforce, amounted to an unlawful effort by Trump to abolish the agency.

Democrat-led states say threats to withhold federal funding if they don’t end DEI practices are unlawful and would actually require them to violate civil rights laws.