Judge deems some of Trump’s National Institutes of Health grant cuts illegal

The Reagan-appointed judge said he had “never seen” such “palpable" racial discrimination in his 40 years on the bench

President Donald Trump, joined by National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Jay Bhattacharya and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., speaks during a press conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on May 12, 2025, in Washington, DC (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Donald Trump’s administration broke the law when it terminated more than $1 billion in medical research grants the president claimed were linked to "DEI", a federal court has ruled.

In a blistering judgement issued on Monday, District Judge William Young — a Reagan appointee — said he had "never seen a record where racial discrimination was so palpable" in his 40 years as a jurist.

He ordered the government to immediately reinstate numerous National Institutes of Health research grants canceled as part of Trump's war against any program perceived to favor people of color, transgender people, or other minorities.

"You are bearing down on people of color because of their color," Young told the defendants. "The Constitution will not permit that... have we fallen so low? Have we no shame?”

The lawsuit blocks a small portion of the 2,100 research grants that Trump has canceled — representing a total of about $9.5bn in funding — with other grants to be decided later.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, NIH's parent agency, said it was "exploring all legal options" and might appeal the judgement.

"HHS stands by its decision to end funding for research that prioritized ideological agendas over scientific rigor and meaningful outcomes for the American people,", the spokesperson said.

Judge Young's ruling concerned two separate lawsuits that were heard together, one by a coalition of academic researchers and unions led by the American Public Health Association and one by a group of Democrat-led states.

The scientists' lawsuit argued that NIH had violated its usual science-based review process, as well as federal regulations and specific orders from Congress to fund research into health disparities.

The grants varied widely in topic, from cardiovascular health through alcohol abuse in minors to the differing impact of certain medications on different racial groups.

The Trump administration has claimed that it is slashing "DEI" initiatives because they discriminate against other Americans by unfairly privileging minorities.

In court, Trump's lawyers said that the NIH's grant cuts were "sufficiently reasoned" and that the agency has "broad discretion" to offer or rescind grants "in alignment with its priorities".

But Judge Young held that although the Trump administration had a legal right to "extirpate affirmative action" if it saw fit, the grant cancelations had been "arbitrary and capricious" and broken government rules.