The Supreme Court voted 5–4 on Aug. 21 to allow the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to cancel hundreds of millions of dollars in research grants linked to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
The new ruling clears the way for the funding reductions while litigation over the grants continues in the lower courts.
The justices filed five separate opinions explaining their votes.
Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett voted to allow the grants to be cut.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson, and Chief Justice John Roberts voted to deny the government’s request to rescind the funding.
The high court said it acted because the federal government faces the possibility that the grant monies, once paid out, may not be recovered.
Moreover, “the plaintiffs do not state that they will repay grant money if the Government ultimately prevails.”
The case is known as National Institutes of Health v. American Public Health Association.
The Department of Justice filed an emergency application with the nation’s highest court late last month, asking the justices to block a ruling by Boston-based U.S. District Judge William Young, who found the cancellation was unlawful and ordered the government to restore the funding.
NIH began taking steps in February to end the grants that conflict with President Donald Trump’s policy priorities.
The NIH is the world’s largest government funder of biomedical research.
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