Supreme Court Lets Trump Admin Axe Millions In NIH Grants Involving DEI, Gender Ideology

The Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to move forward Thursday with terminating hundreds of millions in National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants.

In a 5-4 vote, the majority enabled the administration to terminate nearly $783 million in grants, which the government said were opposed to its policy positions on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and gender ideology.

“The plaintiffs do not state that they will repay grant money if the Government ultimately prevails,” the court’s order states. “Moreover, the plaintiffs’ contention that they lack the resources to continue their research projects without federal funding is inconsistent with the proposition that they have the resources to make the Government whole for money already spent.”

However, the court declined to reinstate guidance documents describing its priorities that were blocked by the lower court. Justice Amy Coney Barrett was the tie-breaking vote on both issues.

While the district court “lacked jurisdiction to hear challenges to the grant terminations,” Barrett wrote the government is not “entitled to a stay of the judgments insofar as they vacate the guidance documents.”