The Trump administration on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to hear an appeal to a ruling in favor of UC researchers who argued that it was illegal to terminate research grants based on diversity-related language.
U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer submitted an appeal to challenge a lower court’s ruling that blocked the federal government from terminating grants based on “diversity, equity and inclusion” language. The Supreme Court has until Sept. 18 to respond to the petition.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January 2025 ordering the federal government to cancel all programs related to DEI, which resulted in the termination of some federal research grants, according to the appeal. UC researchers filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in July 2025 to challenge the cancellation of the grants.
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of eight UC researchers in May, finding that the Trump administration could not terminate grants based on the recipients’ assumed beliefs about DEI.
“Just as the First Amendment permits the government to award highly competitive artistic grants based on the viewpoints of decency and respect, so too does the First Amendment permit terminating highly competitive NSF and NEH grants based on opposition to the viewpoints of the DEI projects at issue here,” the appeal, called a petition for a writ of certiorari, stated.
The UC Office of the President did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
The federal government froze nearly $600 million in UCLA’s research grants from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy in July 2025, after it alleged that the university allowed antisemitism, affirmative action and “men to participate in women’s sports.” Chancellor Julio Frenk denied those allegations in a January interview with The Bruin.
California Federal District Judge Rita F. Lin ordered the federal government to restore the grants from the NSF and NIH in August and September, respectively, as part of the suit. She ruled separately in November that the federal government could not suspend or threaten to suspend UCLA’s research grants.
[Related: One year after $584 million federal funding freeze, UCLA research still recovering]
“The general requirement of viewpoint neutrality does not require taxpayers to continue funding projects that the government concludes no longer serve the public interest,” the appeal stated. “Even if that conclusion is based in part on the viewpoint furthered by the projects.”
Federal agencies used keywords relating to diversity, gender and COVID-19 to terminate more than 1,000 of the UC’s research grants in 2025, according to Cal Matters.
UC President James Milliken said the University is a top recipient of federal funding grants in a July 29 letter to the California Congressional Delegation, in which he urged it to address federal grant disbursement delays.
“The federal government’s partnership with UC has always been essential to America’s unmatched leadership in science and innovation, and today the significance of our work together is more important than ever,” he said.
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