ACLU Sues Trump Admin Over Canceled Grants Tied to DEI, Gender Identity Research

The ACLU has sued the NIH over an alleged purge of research grants tied to DEI, gender identity, COVID-19, and other politically sensitive topics.

The National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., on May 30, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), alongside a coalition of public health organizations, unions, and researchers, has filed a sweeping federal lawsuit accusing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of unlawfully canceling research grants due to political and ideological pressure.

The lawsuit, filed on April 2 at the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, said the NIH terminated grants tied to hundreds of research projects on topics such as diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), racial disparities, COVID-19, vaccine hesitancy, LGBTQ health, and international collaboration.

The suit targets the NIH and its new director, Jay Bhattacharya, along with the Department of Health and Human Services and its secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The plaintiffs, who include the American Public Health Association, the United Auto Workers academic workers’ union, and individual researchers from institutions like Harvard University, allege that NIH staff were directed to eliminate research on “disfavored topics and populations,” while no explanation on the scientific rationale or legal authority of the directive were provided.

The lawsuit accuses NIH of removing funding opportunities from its website, halting applications midstream, and canceling awards already in progress. In total, at least 678 projects and billions in taxpayer-funded research have been wiped out, including studies related to vaccine uptake, HIV prevention in the transgender-identifying population, and training grants to diversify the biomedical workforce, per the complaint.

The ACLU alleges that the termination of these research grants endangers vital medical breakthroughs essential for advancing the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of life-threatening diseases.

“Cancelling grants solely due to political ideology has severe public health consequences and violates the law,” Jessie Rossman, legal director at the ACLU of Massachusetts, said in a statement.

The cancelled grants also have a demonstrable economic impact, the plaintiffs allege.

“For example, more than 30 percent of NIH-funded studies are later cited in an application for a commercial patent, demonstrating the vital role that Project-Based Grants play in fostering innovation,” their complaint states.

The ACLU lawsuit alleged that NIH violated the Administrative Procedure Act, failed to comply with grant termination rules and standards, exceeded its legal authority, and infringed on Fifth Amendment due process protections by relying on vague criteria like gender identity and DEI to justify terminations. The suit seeks to reinstate the canceled grants and block NIH from filtering research grant awards based on ideology.

Requests for comment sent to NIH and HHS were not immediately returned.

Since being reelected for a second term, President Donald Trump has signed several executive orders that collectively seek to dismantle DEI initiatives in government and taxpayer-funded institutions, such as NIH. In particular, Trump’s “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs” order bans federal funding for any programs or projects related to DEI, requiring agencies and grant recipients to eliminate such initiatives.

While critics view DEI initiatives as a form of government-backed identity-based discrimination that undermines meritocracy, supporters of DEI say such policies ensure inclusivity, reduce discrimination, and ensure greater representation for historically marginalized groups.

The Trump administration has also launched a government-wide effort to cut government spending amid a debt crisis to the tune of $36 trillion.

Elon Musk, who is advising the president on the cuts, says the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is on track to cut $4 billion in federal spending per day in the first 130 days of the administration. DOGE’s current savings target is to reduce the U.S. deficit by a trillion dollars without affecting critical government services.

The ACLU’s lawsuit is part of a broader effort against recent NIH policy changes under the Trump administration.

In February, Democratic attorneys general from 22 states, along with groups representing universities and medical schools, sued the NIH over a new rule capping indirect cost reimbursements at 15 percent, alleging a violation of federal appropriations law.

Much like the ACLU’s lawsuit targeting research grants, the plaintiffs in the indirect cost reimbursement case argued that the NIH funding cuts would disrupt scientific and medical research. In March, a federal judge issued a nationwide injunction blocking those cuts.