The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the Trump administration to eliminate $783 million in federal research funding, siding with the government’s push to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

In a 5-4 decision, the justices lifted a lower court order that had blocked the National Institutes of Health from canceling hundreds of grants, though they left in place restrictions on new funding guidance.

Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court’s three liberal members in dissent, warning against allowing the administration to move forward while lawsuits continue.

The decision marks a significant victory for President Donald Trump, who has made dismantling DEI programs across federal agencies a cornerstone of his second term.

The cuts, part of a broader $12 billion rollback of NIH research projects, have sparked backlash from Democratic state attorneys general and public health groups. They argue the cancellations will cause “incalculable losses in public health and human life,” disrupt ongoing studies and derail careers of scientists whose work is being abruptly halted.

The Justice Department countered that funding choices should not be “subject to judicial second-guessing” and said DEI-linked efforts can “conceal insidious racial discrimination.”

Solicitor General D. John Sauer urged the justices to steer such disputes to federal claims court, pointing to an earlier ruling on teacher-training program cuts. But plaintiffs say research grants are fundamentally different and cannot simply be undone without severe damage to science.

US District Judge William Young, who initially blocked the cuts, blasted the administration’s move as “arbitrary and discriminatory.” Young, a Reagan appointee, said at a June hearing: “I’ve never seen government racial discrimination like this. Have we no shame.”

An appeals court had upheld his order, but the Supreme Court’s ruling now gives the Trump administration the green light to proceed with the $783 million rollback while the legal fight continues.

– Ends

With inputs from Associated Press

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