Supreme Court allows Trump administration to cut $783 million in DEI-related research funding
The Supreme Court has ruled 5-4 to allow the Trump administration to cut $783 million in federal research funding, most of which was tied to DEI initiatives.
Overall, the federal government has terminated more than 4,000 grants at over 600 universities under President Trump.
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.
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.
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“The use of terms such as ‘DEI,’ ‘Equity,’ or other euphemistic terms does not excuse unlawful discrimination or absolve parties from scrutiny regarding potential violations,” Bondi added.
The NIH is not the only agency affected. By July, the administration had canceled $1.1 billion in National Science Foundation (NSF) grants, with nearly 90 percent tied to DEI-related themes.
Campus Reform previously reported that, overall, more than 4,000 grants across 600 universities have been terminated under Trump.
Cuts have hit hardest at research-heavy universities. Overall, 94 percent of canceled grants contained language such as “diverse” or “equitable.” A report from the Center for American Progress estimated losses of $2.1 billion for public universities and $1.2 billion for private institutions, spread across both Republican- and Democratic-led states.
The administration’s crackdown highlights how federal oversight of taxpayer dollars intersects with campus DEI programming. Universities that rely on federal research funding are facing significant financial challenges as grants linked to DEI language are rescinded.
Campus Reform has reached out to the National Institutes of Health for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
