{"id":2645237,"date":"2026-08-14T16:24:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T20:24:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-finds-three-nfs-stem-programs-unconstitutional\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T16:28:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T20:28:22","slug":"doj-finds-three-nfs-stem-programs-unconstitutional","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-finds-three-nfs-stem-programs-unconstitutional\/","title":{"rendered":"DOJ finds three NFS STEM programs unconstitutional"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/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-finds-three-nfs-stem-programs-unconstitutional%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=2645237&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>The Justice Department&#8217;s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) has steadfast that three programs funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF)-namely, the improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions program, the Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate program, and the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation-are unconstitutional due to their race- and sex-based criteria, violating the Constitution&#8217;s equal protection clause. This opinion, based on a legal memorandum, advises the NSF not to continue these programs as previously structured and states that the agency cannot reallocate the associated funding, which totals approximately $104 million of the NSF\u2019s $938 million STEM education budget. The programs may be severed from broader statutory frameworks to continue operating without the unconstitutional elements. <\/p>\n<p>The review also found that two other programs,Advanced Technological Education and the Advance Program,include race- or sex-based elements that can be separated from the rest,allowing them to continue legally if the unconstitutional parts are removed. Meanwhile, four programs, including the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program, were deemed constitutional and can continue as is, with the stipulation that race- and sex-based criteria be omitted in their management. <\/p>\n<p>This directive aligns with the Supreme Court\u2019s recent decision in *Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard*, which ended the consideration of race in college admissions, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/us-attorney-alina-habba-announces-investigation-into-dem-governor-and-attorney-general\/\" title=\"US Attorney Alina Habba Announces Investigation Into Dem Governor and Attorney General\">reflects broader federal efforts<\/a>, especially under the Trump administration, to roll back diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in federal agencies.Critics argue that these actions undermine equal prospect and coudl have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/four-key-funding-cliffs-near-as-government-shutdown-drags-on\/\" title=\"Four key ... cliffs near as government shutdown drags on\">long-term negative impacts<\/a> on the future STEM workforce.  <\/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<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/department-of-justice\/\">Justice Department<\/a> Office of Legal Counsel determined this week that three of the National Science Foundation\u2019s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs are unconstitutional because of their race- and sex-based criteria, although the agency has so far declined to say whether it would change or halt them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">NSF spokesman Michael England declined to comment when the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> asked Friday what actions the agency planned to take following the opinion, even though the department found that three of the programs it reviewed are unconstitutional.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4687999\/doj-determines-three-national-science-foundation-stem-programs-unconstitutional\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Largest federal funder of STEM grants goes silent after DOJ finds three programs \u2018unconstitutional\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4687991\/lawrence-massachusetts-mayor-charged-laundering-covid-19-racket\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Massachusetts mayor charged with laundering $1.5 million in COVID-19 loan racket<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4687484\/doj-settlement-la-county-sheriffs-department-concealed-carry-permit-delays\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>DOJ announces settlement with LA County Sheriff\u2019s Department over \u2018excessive\u2019 concealed carry permit delays<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a Wednesday <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/olc\/media\/1457731\/dl\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/olc\/media\/1457731\/dl\">memorandum opinion<\/a><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/olc\/media\/1457731\/dl\"> <\/a>addressed to the NSF general counsel, the DOJ\u2019s OLC said the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions program, the Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate program, and the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation program all violate the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/constitution\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"424\">Constitution\u2019s<\/a> equal-protection guarantee \u201cin their entirety.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The OLC opinion, signed by Deputy Assistant Attorney General for OLC Josh Craddock, is legal advice to the executive branch, not a court ruling. But it directs the agency not to continue administering the three programs as they were previously structured.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The DOJ said NSF cannot reprogram the money Congress appropriated for the programs. Instead, it may treat the funding as residual amounts within its broader <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/stem\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"4340\">STEM<\/a> education appropriation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Based on figures in the opinion, the three programs account for roughly $104 million of NSF\u2019s $938 million STEM education fund.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two other programs, Advanced Technological Education and the Advance Program, include race- or sex-based elements that the DOJ concluded could be severed from their broader statutory frameworks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNSF may continue to administer those programs provided that it does not implement or enforce the unconstitutional provisions,\u201d the opinion said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The remaining four reviewed programs were found constitutional, including the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program. The opinion also said NSF must administer three programs \u2014 the Graduate Research Fellowship Program, Advancing Informal STEM Learning, and the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program \u2014 without considering race or sex.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">NSF asked the DOJ in May to review nine programs and determine whether they violated equal-protection principles and whether the agency could redirect money that could no longer be spent under their existing criteria.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The opinion said the agency may not make that reallocation because Congress appropriated the money through a lump-sum STEM education account, with minimum allocations for particular programs. The unconstitutional program-specific funding mandates, however, cannot be enforced, according to OLC.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The finding is particularly notable because Congress created or endorsed some of the targeted programs.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions program, for example, was created under the bipartisan America COMPETES Act of 2007, which former President George W. Bush <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/110th-congress\/house-bill\/2272\/text\">signed into law<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The OLC review concluded there was \u201cno compelling interest to support the program\u2019s racial criteria.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cCongress made no findings at all about the program, much less findings about \u2018specific, identified instances of past discrimination\u2019 against Hispanic students that violated the law,\u201d the opinion said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">OLC repeatedly relied on the Supreme Court\u2019s 2023 decision in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/supreme.justia.com\/cases\/federal\/us\/600\/20-1199\/\"><em>Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard<\/em><\/a>, which ended the consideration of race in college admissions. It also cited prior DOJ opinions finding race- and sex-based programs at the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/olc\/media\/1421576\/dl\">Department of Education<\/a> and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/olc\/media\/1447016\/dl\">Department of Agriculture<\/a> unconstitutional.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The opinion comes as the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/trump-administration\/\">Trump administration<\/a> has moved to eliminate <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/dei\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"3088\">diversity, equity, and inclusion<\/a> initiatives across the federal government. White House science adviser Michael Kratsios has argued that DEI programs degrade science, while NSF has sought to terminate grants based in part on their connections to DEI.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4682832\/doj-memo-gives-trump-playbook-shield-outside-advisers-democrats-win-subpoena-power\/\">DOJ MEMO GIVES TRUMP PLAYBOOK TO SHIELD OUTSIDE ADVISERS IF DEMOCRATS WIN SUBPOENA POWER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rep. George Whitesides (D-CA), a former NASA chief of staff, criticized the opinion in a post on X.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis move attacks the foundations of equal opportunity in our country,\u201d Whitesides wrote Thursday afternoon. \u201cEach and every attempt by this administration to dismantle our STEM workforce will have devastating effects on our future for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DOJ finds 3 NSF STEM programs unconstitutional; NSF remains silent<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2645238,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP25016848525273.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[7076,84189,13495,5803],"class_list":["post-2645237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-doj","tag-nfs","tag-stem","tag-unconstitutional"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP25016848525273.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2645237","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\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2645237"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2645237\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2645241,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2645237\/revisions\/2645241"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2645238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2645237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2645237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2645237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}