Three New Federal Court Decisions Blocking Trump Administration Actions
Federal District Court Judges Continue to Push Back Against the Administration
This past week, there were three more federal district court decisions that blocked Trump administration actions.
First comes a ruling that the termination of roughly 200 NIH grants for studies involving “diversity, equity, and inclusion” violated federal law because the criteria for termination are both unconstitutionally vague and unconstitutionally discriminatory. Indeed, Judge Young, a Reagan appointee, said that that in four decades on the bench, he had “never seen a record where racial discrimination was so palpable.”
Second, a federal judge ordered the administration to restore Harvard’s longstanding participation in the government’s Student and Visitor Exchange Program so that it can continue to enroll international students. DHS had rescinded Harvard’s participation in the program as part of Trump’s vendetta against Harvard.
Finally, a third federal judge blocked the administration’s efforts to withhold billions of dollars in transportation funding to states unless they complied with the Trump administration’s demands regarding immigration enforcement. The judge ruled that because immigration enforcement bears no reasonable relationship to the transportation funds being awarded, the administration could not condition the funding on immigration enforcement requirements.
Each of these rulings are preliminary and could also be appealed, but we continue to see an ongoing battle as the Trump administration pushes the limits of legality in seeking to exercise control over scientific research, universities, and states run by Democrats, and federal judges are pushing back.
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