Judge orders NIH to restore grants agency terminated based on DEI
A federal judge has ordered the National institutes of Health (NIH) to restore hundreds of grants that were terminated due to concerns surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. Judge william Young from Massachusetts ruled that the agency’s cuts were discriminatory based on racial, gender, and sexual orientation factors, violating the rights of affected groups. His decision mandates the reinstatement of approximately $3.8 billion across 367 grants to U.S. institutions. Young expressed strong disapproval of the NIH’s justification for the cuts, labeling them arbitrary and harmful to minorities, women, and LGBTQ individuals. The ruling is seen as a significant legal setback for the previous Trump management’s efforts to revamp government policies, which have faced numerous challenges in court.
Judge orders NIH to restore grants agency terminated based on DEI
A federal judge ordered the National Institutes of Health on Monday to restore hundreds of grants terminated by the agency based on concerns about diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.
Judge William Young of the District of Massachusetts ruled that the program cuts were discriminatory on racial, gender, and sexual orientation grounds. His ruling requires nearly $3.8 billion across 367 grants to be restored to U.S. institutions, Axios reported.
“I’ve never seen a record where racial discrimination was so palpable,” Young said. “I’ve sat on this bench now for 40 years. I’ve never seen government racial discrimination like this.”
Attorneys representing the researcher plaintiffs argued that the selection of grants to be cut was “arbitrary” and disproportionately affected racial minorities, women, and LGBT people.
After an attorney representing the Justice Department read out an NIH statement arguing DEI policies “are often used to support unlawful discrimination,” Young shot down the suggestion.
“I see no evidence of that,” he said. “From what I can see, it’s the reverse, but point it [the evidence] out to me.”
Young concluded by acknowledging that he did not have the authority to act beyond the evidence presented in the case, so his ruling would not apply to cuts beyond the individual lawsuit against the NIH. He then claimed that the government was trying to discriminate against minorities.
NIH DIRECTOR GRILLED BY BOTH PARTIES FOR PROPOSED RESEARCH BUDGET CUTS
“Have we fallen so low?” he said. “Have we no shame?”
The ruling marks yet another blistering legal defeat for the Trump administration, which has found its ambitious plans to rework the government hounded at every step by legal challenges, usually from activist groups.
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