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 justices filed five separate opinions explaining their votes.
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.
The emergency application stemmed from two lawsuits challenging the cuts to grants involving DEI, “transgender issues,” and “vaccine hesitancy,” and other issues.
Katabella Roberts contributed to this report.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
