By Nick Pope
A judge on Friday ruled that the U.S. Naval Academy is allowed to continue to use race as a factor in its admissions process.
U.S. District Judge Richard Bennett ruled that the Naval Academy does not fall afoul of the Supreme Court’s June 2023 ruling to strike down affirmative action in college admissions because the Naval Academy is not a civilian university, but instead a part of the military and generally under the purview of the executive branch. Bennett opined that “military and civilian leaders have determined that a racially diverse officer corps is a national security interest” in his ruling.
Students for Fair Admissions, the anti-affirmative action group that filed the suit which resulted in the Supreme Court’s landmark June 2023 ruling, brought the case against the Naval Academy in a bid to expand the reach of that major decision, according to The Wall Street Journal. Edward Blum, the leader of Students for Fair Admissions, said that he is disappointed in the ruling and that he intends to appeal it. (RELATED: UCLA’s Blueprint To Increase Diversity And Sidestep SCOTUS Ruling Could Make It ‘Prime Target’ For Trump DOJ)
“After an intense one-year period of discovery and a nine-day bench trial, this Court has found that the Academy’s admissions program withstands the strict scrutiny mandated by the Harvard case,” Bennett wrote. “The Naval Academy has established a compelling national security interest in a diverse officer corps in the Navy and Marine Corps. Furthermore, that interest is indeed measurable, and the Academy’s admissions program is narrowly tailored to meet that interest. In short, this Court defers to the executive branch with respect to military personnel decisions.”
The Naval Academy is reviewing the court’s decision, a spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation. Notably, the Naval Academy argued in filings pursuant to the case that using race as a factor in assessing candidates results in a stronger, more cohesive and respected fighting force, according to the WSJ.
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to helm the Pentagon for his second term, has repeatedly stated that he plans to reform the U.S. military and its component parts to abandon “wokeness” in the armed forces and return the military’s focus to lethality and efficacy in combat. Hegseth’s nomination has proven to be one of the most contentious in the wake of Trump’s victory on Nov. 5, as Hegseth has faced a slew of allegations about his sexual and personal conduct amplified by the legacy media.
