A federal judge has ordered the Trump admin to restore several grants from the National Institutes of Health that were cancelled as part of the president’s anti-DEI initiatives.
In a ruling on Monday, U.S. District Court Judge William Young found that Trump’s cuts to programs were “void and illegal” and accused the administration of engaging in obvious discrimination against minorities and LGBTQ+ people. Young, who was appointed by former President Ronald Reagan, called the reasoning behind the Trump administration’s cuts “appalling.”
“I am hesitant to draw this conclusion, but I have an unflinching obligation to draw it – that this represents racial discrimination. And discrimination against America’s LGBTQ community. That’s what this is. I would be blind not to call it out. My duty is to call it out,” Young said in his ruling. “I’ve sat on this bench now for 40 years. I’ve never seen government racial discrimination like this.”
Young was unsure of his authority to overturn executive orders. However, he demanded that the research funds that would have been granted to the plaintiffs be restored. Young chastized the Trump administration directly, saying that what they were attempting was unconstitutional from a legal perspective and despicable from a moral one.
“You are bearing down on people of color because of their color,” Young said. “The Constitution will not permit that… Have we fallen so low? Have we no shame?”
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