“The U.S. Supreme Court has permitted the Trump administration to move forward with canceling $783 million in federal research grants, part of its broader rollback of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. In a 5-4 ruling, the justices lifted a lower court order that blocked the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from terminating hundreds of grants, while leaving restrictions on future funding guidance in place,” reports Campus Reform:
In June, U.S. District Judge William Young of Massachusetts temporarily halted the cancellations, writing that the administration acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” and arguing the move reflected racial and LGBTQ discrimination, according to The Associated Press.
The Supreme Court decision allows the cuts to proceed while lawsuits continue. State attorneys general and public health groups opposing the decision warned it could cause setbacks in medical research, but the Department of Justice has countered that grant decisions fall under executive authority and should not be “subject to judicial second-guessing.”
On July 29, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued new guidance warning federal funding recipients that DEI programming could trigger investigations. “Going forward, the federal government will not stand by while recipients of federal funds engage in discrimination,” the memo stated.
DEI efforts fuel censorship and violations of the First Amendment. A study by a California State University professor found that an increase in “diversity, equity and inclusion” policies at a college is linked to rising opposition to free speech.
“The rise of DEI bureaucracies has actually coincided with the beginning of a ‘Free-Speech Crisis on College Campuses,’” notes the study.
The study was by Kevin Wallsten, a political-science professor at California State University at Long Beach.
“It was clear from the start that, regardless of what was on their websites, DEI bureaucracies were more likely to suppress than encourage free expression on college campuses,” the study observes.
Under Biden, the Education Department issued a DEI rule for government grants, incentivizing the unconstitutional use of racial classifications.
Under the Biden administration, a study found that its vast DEI bureaucracy was harming our armed forces.
