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By Usha Lee McFarling, Megan Molteni, and Jonathan Wosen
Jan. 30, 2025
Executive orders issued by President Trump in his first days in office are sending a chill through the nation’s colleges, universities, and academic medical centers because they appear to be part of a plan to leverage billions of dollars in National Institutes of Health and other research grants — their fiscal lifeblood — to pressure them to dismantle programs and activities dealing with diversity, equity, and inclusion and to bring to heel campuses that have been outspoken in their commitment to those issues.
One order, issued January 21, states that DEI efforts are now illegal, and discriminatory themselves, under the new administration’s interpretation of federal anti-discrimination laws. It also directs government agencies to install new requirements that any institutions receiving federal grants attest that they are in compliance with this interpretation or risk losing funding or face legal action.
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Entitled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” the order also instructs each agency of the federal government to identify “up to nine potential civic compliance investigations,” which could involve publicly traded corporations, nonprofits and large foundations, and universities whose endowments exceed $1 billion — a list of about 80 that includes at the top Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, but also Texas A&M and the University of Virginia.
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Usha Lee McFarling
National Science Correspondent
Usha Lee McFarling, a veteran science reporter based in Los Angeles, has written for STAT since 2015 and covers health disparities.
Megan Molteni
Science Writer
Megan Molteni reports on discoveries from the frontiers of genomic medicine, neuroscience, and reproductive tech. She joined STAT in 2021 after covering health and science at WIRED.
Jonathan Wosen
West Coast Biotech & Life Sciences Reporter
Jonathan Wosen is STAT’s West Coast biotech & life sciences reporter.
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