Fourth Circuit upholds July 2, 2026 injunction on CIA/ODNI DEIA-linked terminations (Doe 1 v. ODNI)

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed a preliminary injunction on July 2, 2026, in Doe 1 v. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, blocking the CIA and ODNI from carrying out certain DEIA-linked terminations unless they first follow specific internal procedures. The case challenged terminations tied to employees’ temporary assignments connected to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility initiatives.

In a divided ruling, the majority said the agencies could not treat their own promised reassignment and internal-appeal steps as optional once employees faced termination. The court framed those promised steps as protected “property” interests under the Fifth Amendment’s due-process requirements, even while emphasizing the agencies retain broad discretion to terminate employees.

What the Fourth Circuit actually required first

The injunction is narrow. The court held the district court did not abuse its discretion in requiring CIA/ODNI to comply with two key provisions of CIA Regulation 4-16 (the “Termination Regulation”) before proceeding with the challenged terminations.

• Reassignment consideration when employees are selected for termination due to “excess personnel functions or needs,” including a meeting to discuss possible alternative positions and help if an employee expresses interest.
• An internal appeal process for covered employees, with limited exceptions (including certain terminations involving revocation of access to classified information and certain non-career situations).

The opinion also emphasized that the preliminary injunction required compliance with those procedural provisions and included a restriction on effectuating/implementing any termination decision without further court authorization during the litigation.

Why the court treated the internal steps as due-process rights

The court’s key legal move was procedural: it did not say employees automatically had a guaranteed right to keep their jobs. Instead, the majority reasoned that when an agency’s binding termination framework supplies specific procedures, denying access to those procedures can create a cognizable due-process issue. In that view, the Termination Regulation’s reassignment process and internal appeal access became constitutionally significant once the agencies indicated they would not honor them.

What the ruling does—and doesn’t—mean for “DEIA firings”

This is an affirmed preliminary injunction—meaning it is designed to maintain the status quo while the case continues, not to finally decide the merits of every challenged termination. It is not a broad, universal bar on future DEIA-related workforce actions.

Still, by tying Fifth Amendment due process to the procedural steps found in the agency’s own termination regulation, the decision creates clear litigation risk for agencies when their written internal processes are presented as required employee process.

What the dissent warned

Judge Niemeyer dissented. He argued the regulation provisions relied on by the majority should not have been treated as limiting the directors’ discretion, and he warned that the preliminary injunction improperly intrudes into executive authority—especially in the national-security context.

What to watch next

The next practical question is implementation: how the agencies apply the reassignment-consideration and internal-appeal steps to the affected employees while the litigation proceeds. More broadly, the ruling signals that if an agency’s own regulation sets defined internal procedures for how certain terminations are handled, courts may require compliance with those steps before the agency can move forward with the termination decisions at issue.

Sources

• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit — Doe 1 v. ODNI (No. 25-1527) opinion (PDF, decision July 2, 2026)
• Justia case page — Doe 1 v. Office of the Director of National Intelligence (No. 25-1527) (July 2, 2026)
• NBC News (NBC Chicago) — reporting on the ruling and reported ‘rehire’ framing
• Reuters (via Investing.com) — appeals court blocks firings tied to DEI programs
• Just Security — litigation tracker entry for Doe 1 v. ODNI (context on ongoing challenges)