The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Thursday that the Trump administration may proceed with canceling $783 million in National Institutes of Health grants, many tied to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
The decision set aside a lower court’s order requiring NIH to continue funding hundreds of research projects. Chief Justice John Roberts and the Court’s three liberals dissented, while Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett sided with the administration.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued that the district court lacked jurisdiction, citing a similar case earlier this year involving Department of Education DEI grants. Gorsuch, writing for the majority, said lower courts had defied precedent by blocking the government. Barrett concurred, saying the case belonged in the Court of Federal Claims.
Democratic attorneys general from 15 states and the American Public Health Association opposed the administration, warning that canceled grants affect studies on Alzheimer’s, HIV/AIDS, heart disease, and substance abuse. In dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson called the ruling a rushed, “unprincipled” decision with sweeping consequences.
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