Supreme Court Allows NIH DEI Grant Cuts, Blocks Future Guidance

The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the Trump administration to proceed with the cancellation of hundreds of millions of dollars in National Institutes of Health research grants linked to diversity, equity and inclusion, while keeping a block on the administration’s guidance for future funding. In a 5-4 decision, the court lifted a lower-court order that had halted about $783 million in cuts, a move that enables NIH to align its spending with the administration’s priorities even as related litigation continues. Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court’s liberal justices in the dissent, highlighting a sharp split over the balance between executive spending decisions and judicial review.

The dispute centers on NIH grants that were terminated midstream as part of President Trump’s broader effort to curb DEI initiatives across federal agencies. The decision to allow the cuts to proceed affects a fraction of NIH’s roughly $12 billion in research funding identified as impacted by the administration’s actions, and it leaves intact a temporary injunction blocking future DEI-related funding guidelines from taking effect. Opponents of the cuts, including 16 Democratic state...