The U.S. Supreme Court, in a razor-thin 5–4 decision, has cleared the way for President Donald Trump’s administration to push forward with sweeping cuts to federal medical research funding tied to race, gender identity, and LGBT health.
The ruling lifts a lower court’s block on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) terminating billions in research grants, even as lawsuits from researchers and 16 states continue in the lower courts. The majority suggested challengers brought their case in the wrong venue, pointing instead to the Court of Federal Claims.
Chief Justice John Roberts broke with his conservative colleagues, siding with the court’s three liberal justices in dissent. But the majority decision gives Trump’s team a crucial win in its broader campaign to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion programs across government.
The administration argues that Judge William Young’s earlier order forced NIH to keep paying out \$783 million in projects it considers “off-mission,” including studies on minority health disparities, LGBT medical needs, vaccine hesitancy, and COVID-19. The judge, however, blasted the cuts as “breathtakingly arbitrary” and accused the administration of pursuing an “ideological purge” that amounted to racial and LGBTQ discrimination.
Researchers and public health groups warn the rollback strikes at studies on breast cancer, Alzheimer’s, HIV prevention, suicide, and depression—areas that often disproportionately affect marginalized communities. Several of the defunded projects were also tied to congressional mandates designed to build a more diverse pool of biomedical scientists.
While the Court refused to grant the administration everything it sought—including an immediate green light to wipe away NIH’s own internal guidance on rejecting DEI-related grants—the ruling marks another instance where the Supreme Court’s conservative bloc has leaned in favor of Trump’s agenda since his return to the White House.
The legal battle is far from over. Judge Young has already signaled he may convene emergency hearings to restore at least part of the disputed grant money if the cuts continue unchecked. But for now, the nation’s largest biomedical research funder is being reshaped by a presidency determined to rip diversity out of its DNA.
