{"id":2558514,"date":"2026-01-30T14:18:02","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T19:18:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-backs-lawsuit-against-ucla-med-schools-race-based-admissions-4\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T14:22:01","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T19:22:01","slug":"doj-backs-lawsuit-against-ucla-med-schools-race-based-admissions-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-backs-lawsuit-against-ucla-med-schools-race-based-admissions-4\/","title":{"rendered":"DOJ Backs Lawsuit Against UCLA Med School&#8217;s Race-Based Admissions"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdoj-backs-lawsuit-against-ucla-med-schools-race-based-admissions-4%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2558514&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Teh U.S. Department of Justice, led by Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon, has moved to intervene in a lawsuit accusing UCLA\u2019s medical school of using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/byu-rooting-out-racism-task-force-calls-for-race-conscious-religious-curriculum-admissions-standards\/\" title=\"BYU \u2018Rooting Out Racism\u2019 Task Force Calls For \u2018...-Conscious\u2019 Religious Curriculum, Admissions Standards\">race-conscious admissions<\/a>. The suit was brought by advocacy group Do No Harm and Students for Fair Admissions, the group behind the Supreme Court decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard that struck down affirmative action. The DOJ argues public medical schools must pursue \u201ccolorblind\u201d admissions and says UCLA\u2019s practices\u2014such as asking applicants if they identify as part of a marginalized group and to describe related inequities\u2014effectively reveal and consider race in violation of the court\u2019s ruling. The filing also contends race-based admissions harm trust in non-white doctors by creating a persistent \u201cshadow\u201d over their qualifications. The article notes a potential loophole: Chief Justice John Roberts allowed applicants to discuss how race affected their lives, a provision some universities have used to indirectly solicit race-related information. If the case proceeds,it could prompt the Supreme Court to reinforce or clarify the SFFA ruling; do No Harm\u2019s leadership welcomed the DOJ\u2019s involvement.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/photo\/park-in-los-angeles-24304634\/\">Cl&eacute;ment Proust \/ Pexels<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/01\/30\/department-of-justice-backs-lawsuit-against-ucla-medical-schools-race-based-admissions\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Department%20Of%20Justice%20Backs%20Lawsuit%20Against%20UCLA%20Medical%20School%E2%80%99s%20Race-Based%20Admissions&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/01\/30\/department-of-justice-backs-lawsuit-against-ucla-medical-schools-race-based-admissions\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Department%20Of%20Justice%20Backs%20Lawsuit%20Against%20UCLA%20Medical%20School%E2%80%99s%20Race-Based%20Admissions&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/01\/30\/department-of-justice-backs-lawsuit-against-ucla-medical-schools-race-based-admissions\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/01\/30\/department-of-justice-backs-lawsuit-against-ucla-medical-schools-race-based-admissions\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Department%20Of%20Justice%20Backs%20Lawsuit%20Against%20UCLA%20Medical%20School%E2%80%99s%20Race-Based%20Admissions&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/01\/30\/department-of-justice-backs-lawsuit-against-ucla-medical-schools-race-based-admissions\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>The Trump administration has thrown its weight behind a lawsuit against the medical school at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) over allegedly using race to choose its students.<\/p>\n<p>Led by Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon, the U.S. Department of Justice <a href=\"https:\/\/donoharmmedicine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/77-2-USA-proposed-complaint.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">filed<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/donoharmmedicine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/77_USA-Motion-to-Intervene.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">intervene<\/a> this week.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-523737416\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&ldquo;After a long history of moving incrementally away from racial preferences in education, this Nation and its Supreme Court cast off this vestige of our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-backs-lawsuit-against-ucla-med-schools-race-based-admissions-3\/\" title=\"DOJ Backs ... Against ... School&#039;s ...-Based Admissions\">troubled history surrounding race<\/a> and set out to mandate colorblind admissions in all public (and publicly funded) universities,&rdquo; the Justice Department&rsquo;s intervening lawsuit states. &ldquo;Nevertheless, UCLA Med&rsquo;s Associate Dean for Admissions, Jennifer Lucero, boldly states on her official profile that &lsquo;she takes a special interest in diversity issues in medicine.&#8217;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;There is but one legal avenue for a public or publicly funded medical school to pursue diversity in medicine: admit the most qualified candidates regardless of race, and expect that those most qualified candidates will come from every race, because they do,&rdquo; it added.<\/p>\n<p>Do No Harm (DNH), a medical advocacy group, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/05\/09\/ucla-med-school-slapped-with-class-action-lawsuit-over-alleged-race-based-admissions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">filed the lawsuit<\/a> in May, as The Federalist reported, along with Students for Fair Admissions &mdash; the same group behind the U.S. Supreme Court Case <em>Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard<\/em> (<em>SFFA<\/em>), where the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-backs-lawsuit-against-ucla-med-schools-race-based-admissions-2\/\" title=\"DOJ Backs ... Against ... School&#039;s ...-Based Admissions\">high court overturned affirmative action<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >ruled race-based admissions schemes unconstitutional<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit has massive implications for the medical profession, as schools are attempting to find every way to undermine the most qualified applicants to fulfill some kind of ideological fealty to race-consciousness. As the Justice Department pointed out, racialized admissions in medicine will invariably have the adverse effect of forcing patients to justifiably wonder if their non-white doctor &ldquo;is really qualified to practice medicine and can give them the same quality care as a White or Asian doctor who did not receive preferential admission to medical school.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The department said that ever-present question in a patient&rsquo;s mind is a &ldquo;shadow&rdquo; that &ldquo;follows [non-white] doctors throughout their careers,&rdquo; even when a minority doctor may actually be fully qualified.<\/p>\n<p>At UCLA, medical student applicants are asked if they &ldquo;identify as being part of a group that has been marginalized,&rdquo; according to the Justice Department, and are then asked to describe &ldquo;how this inequity has impacted you or your community.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Seemingly in direct contravention to the thrust of <em>SFFA<\/em>, &ldquo;On its face and by design, this question asks Black applicants to reveal their race so that UCLA Med can know and consider it,&rdquo; the filing states.<\/p>\n<p>However, Chief Justice John Roberts, who wrote the majority opinion in <em>SFFA<\/em>, effectively gave schools that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/1218242\/harvard-university-signals-loophole-for-race-based-admissions-after-supreme-court-says-unconstitutional\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">loophole<\/a> by writing, &ldquo;nothing in this opinion should be construed as prohibiting universities from considering an applicant&rsquo;s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Harvard immediately took that statement to mean that, while they may not be able to directly ask for an applicant&rsquo;s race, they would indirectly encourage applicants to make race the subject of admissions essays. UCLA was also <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2024\/12\/02\/universitys-blueprint-to-increase-diversity-and-sidestep-scotus-ruling-could-make-it-prime-target-for-trump-doj\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">advertising<\/a> its attempts to find loopholes to <em>SFFA<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>The case against the UCLA medical school may give the opportunity for the Supreme Court to double down on SFFA, and indicate it meant what it said in that case, which <a href=\"https:\/\/donoharmmedicine.org\/2026\/01\/28\/department-of-justice-moves-to-intervene-in-do-no-harm-lawsuit-against-ucla-medical-school\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">appears<\/a> to be what DNH is seeking.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We look forward to the Justice Department&rsquo;s additional efforts here to get to the bottom of what appears to be an effort by UCLA to continue a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-backs-lawsuit-against-ucla-med-schools-race-based-admissions\/\" title=\"DOJ Backs ... Against ... School&#039;s ...-Based Admissions\">race-based medical school admissions process<\/a> in contravention of the Constitution and the Supreme Court&rsquo;s decision in&nbsp;<em>Students for Fair Admissions<\/em>,&rdquo; DNH executive director Kristina Rasmussen <a href=\"https:\/\/donoharmmedicine.org\/2026\/01\/28\/department-of-justice-moves-to-intervene-in-do-no-harm-lawsuit-against-ucla-medical-school\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> in a press release. <\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Breccan F. Thies is the White House correspondent for The Federalist. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. As an investigative journalist, he previously covered education and culture issues for the Washington Examiner and Breitbart News. He holds a degree from the University of Virginia and is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. You can follow him on X: @BreccanFThies.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Breccan F. Thies<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BreccanFThies\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@BreccanFThies<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/breccan-thies\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/affirmative-action\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">affirmative action<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/do-no-harm\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Do No Harm<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/race-based-admissions\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">race-based admissions<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/students-for-fair-admissions\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Students for Fair Admissions<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/students-for-fair-admissions-v-harvard\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/ucla\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">UCLA<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/university-of-california-los-angeles\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">University of California Los Angeles<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump admin backs lawsuit over UCLA med race policy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":179,"featured_media":2558515,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/pexels-clement-proust-363898785-24304634-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[40921,7076,11938],"class_list":["post-2558514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-affirmative-action","tag-doj","tag-ucla"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/pexels-clement-proust-363898785-24304634-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2558514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/179"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2558514"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2558514\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2558518,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2558514\/revisions\/2558518"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2558515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2558514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2558514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2558514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}