Trump Administration Fights Back After Judge Blocks Halt to DEI Health Grants
A Reagan-appointed federal judge has sided with left-wing activist groups in a ruling that forces the Trump administration to reinstate federal health grants previously cut due to their ties to gender ideology and divisive DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) programs.
U.S. District Judge William Young declared the administration's move to terminate the grants "unlawful," effectively ordering the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to resume funding immediately. The decision came after lawsuits were filed by groups including the ACLU, Ibis Reproductive Health, and the American Public Health Association—organizations long known for promoting radical progressive policies.
In February, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) had moved to halt grants that emphasized LGBTQ research and gender identity studies, citing a need to eliminate ideological bias from publicly funded science.
Peter G. Lurie, president of the left-leaning Center for Science in the Public Interest, celebrated the ruling, claiming: “The ideologically motivated directives to terminate grants alleged to constitute DEI, ‘gender ideology,’ or other forbidden topics were, in fact, arbitrary and capricious, and have now been ruled unlawful.”
Georges Benjamin, head of the American Public Health Association, was even more blunt, accusing the Trump administration of “trying to undermine the health and well-being of these populations.”
But the Trump administration is far from backing down.
“HHS stands by its decision to end funding for research that prioritized ideological agendas over scientific rigor and meaningful outcomes for the American people,” said HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon.
“Under the leadership of Secretary Kennedy and the Trump administration, HHS is committed to ensuring that taxpayer dollars support programs rooted in evidence-based practices and gold standard science, not driven by divisive DEI mandates or gender ideology,” Nixon added.
Critics warn that while the court order may require the administration to reopen funding streams, bureaucratic foot-dragging and internal resistance could still stall implementation. Even Benjamin, despite applauding the ruling, admitted the Trump team has been adept at using back-channel methods to enforce its priorities: “Just watch what the administration does with their left hand when they’re doing something with their right,” he said. “They’ve been pretty sneaky about trying to find ways to get around judges’ rules.”
The case is just one battle in a broader war against DEI ideology that President Donald Trump has been waging since returning to the White House.
In April, Attorney General Pam Bondi formally dismissed a series of lawsuits inherited from the Biden administration, which had targeted local police and fire departments for using merit-based hiring tests rather than race-based DEI quotas.
Despite no proof of racial discrimination, Biden’s DOJ tried to coerce departments into expensive settlements, forcing cities to adopt DEI-aligned hiring practices and compensate applicants who scored lower on exams.
“Despite no evidence of intentional discrimination—only statistical disparities—the prior administration branded the aptitude tests at issue in these cases as discriminatory to advance a DEI agenda,” the DOJ stated in a news release. “And it sought to coerce cities into conducting DEI-based hiring in response and spending millions of dollars in taxpayer funds for payouts to previous applicants who had scored lower on the tests, regardless of qualifications.”
Bondi’s office has made clear that the new administration is intent on scrapping such policies entirely.
“American communities deserve firefighters and police officers to be chosen for their skill and dedication to public safety – not to meet DEI quotas,” Bondi stated. Her decision to end the lawsuits marks a significant step in President Trump’s broader effort to eliminate DEI from the federal bureaucracy.
As the administration prepares to appeal Judge Young’s ruling, the message is clear: the Trump White House is doubling down on merit, scientific integrity, and the rule of law—not leftist identity politics disguised as public health.