| Medical schools trying to diversify admissions as part of a larger mission to have the health care workforce look more like the communities they serve is running into opposition from the Trump administration. The Post’s Laura Meckler and Susan Svrluga have a report on the clash that’s playing out at universities around the country, including - The administration’s investigations began with UCLA’s medical school last year, and have expanded to schools including Yale University, UC Davis, UC San Diego and George Washington University.
- In June, the Justice Department announced 15 new investigations into medical schools’ admissions practices, followed by five more from the Education Department in July.
- The Treasury Department and the IRS recently proposed rules that could strip tax-exempt status from private schools that consider race in admissions or other policies.
- The administration is also threatening federal funding for institutions whose diversity efforts run afoul of its interpretation of the law.
→ The moves create a particularly difficult calculation for medical schools, which have long argued that a diverse physician workforce is important for serving diverse patient populations. It’s also occurring as the U.S. confronts a physician shortage. - Some schools have adapted their admissions processes after the Supreme Court’s 2023 ban on race-conscious admissions to focus on race-neutral factors — such as socioeconomic status or personal hardships — while still seeking a broad range of experiences and backgrounds.
- But the Trump administration has argued that universities can’t get around the ban by using those types of race-neutral factors when their goal remains to increase racial diversity. That interpretation represents a shift from the Biden administration.
The bottom line: The legal boundaries remain unsettled, leaving medical schools to weigh their diversity goals against the possibility of costly federal consequences. Some universities, including George Washington University, have pushed back on the administration’s findings. In May, the Justice Department announced its conclusion that UCLA had “intentionally selected applicants based on their race,” and illustrated a bias in favor of Black and Hispanic candidates in violation of the law. UCLA responded at the time that its admissions process is “based on merit and grounded in a rigorous, comprehensive review of each applicant.” Meanwhile, Yale’s president has garnered pushback from members of Congress, faculty, students and alumni after disclosing that the school was in negotiations with the government. “Acquiescing to a bully does not make that bully go away, it encourages them to come back for more and to expand their overreach to weaker targets,” wrote Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Connecticut) to Yale University President Maurie McInnis, urging her to reject any settlement from the federal government. Read the full story for much more: “How Trump administration threats could affect medical school admissions.” The Trump administration’s threats to pull federal funding for universities that express interest in diversity, or whose admissions data show racial disparities in students’ scores, raises the stakes for these schools. Zoom out: Medical schools targeted over their admissions policies are also major recipients of federal research dollars. Yale University’s medical school received $580.8 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health in fiscal 2025, while UC San Diego received more than $425 million. Across the country, medical schools received $30.5 billion in federal research grants and contracts in fiscal 2025. But: While the numbers may not mean all of that money is at risk, they illustrate the scale of the federal research relationship now caught up in the admissions fight and other litigation. In a separate civil case involving UCLA, the Justice Department is explicitly asking a court to terminate the university’s federal grants and recover money awarded since 2023. $9,000 That’s roughly what the Pentagon charges per hour to fly an Air Force-operated Gulfstream jet. It’s a relevant figure following a report from Rachel Roubein, Dan Diamond and Andrew Ba Tran in The Post’s newsroom. Zoom in: My colleagues learned that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was given access to military aircraft for his travels across the country. Meanwhile, a Gulfstream jet flew from the Washington, D.C., area to Des Moines on Aug. 17. It arrived several hours ahead of Kennedy’s first event in the state, and two people familiar with his travels said the flight path and jet corresponded with Kennedy’s schedule. The White House and the Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to The Post’s questions about that flight. Several people said that use of military aircraft has been infrequent, given the additional costs, and that there are protocols in place to determine whether to use a government plane. The White House, as well as HHS lawyers, signed off on the plan to let Kennedy use military jets for certain travel amid Republicans’ push ahead of the midterms, The Post reported. Kennedy reportedly flew commercially while touring the U.S. to promote healthy eating and food industry reforms. Read the full story: “RFK Jr. uses military aircraft as he campaigns for GOP in midterms.” “mRNA cancer vaccines’ biggest barriers to market,” Alexandra Pecci reports in BioPharma Dive. “Federal officials eye opioid medication alternatives,” Politico’s Amanda Friedman writes. This newsletter is published by WP Intelligence, The Washington Post’s subscription service for professionals that provides business, policy and thought leaders with actionable insights. WP Intelligence operates independently from The Washington Post newsroom. Learn more about WP Intelligence. | 
