RFK Jr. Ends Minority Health Research Program in Anti-DEI Push

The US Department of Health and Human Services terminated Monday a minority health research program that it says prioritizes racial classifications when awarding federal funding.

The decision put an end to the National Institutes of Health’s Minority Biomedical Research Support (MBRS) program that seeks to increase the numbers of minority faculty, students, and investigators engaged in biomedical research, according to a notice filed in the Federal Register.

The health department cited the move to be in accordance with President Donald Trump’s executive order signed on his first day in office to end federal diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and another executive order touting the restoration of merit-based opportunity.

The notice cites the US Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, which held that race-based affirmative action in college admissions violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

“HHS remains committed to ensuring equal treatment under the law throughout its grant programs,” the department said in the notice.

“The goal of promoting diversity, even if commendable, cannot survive review under equal protection principles,” the department added. “The principles identified in Students for Fair Admissions also apply to the federal government and require repeal of the MBRS program.”

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. moved quickly to implement Trump’s executive order across federal health agencies, taking down webpages that included DEI language and slashing research funds that contain keywords such as “diverse” and “minority.”

The department said because the “MBRS regulations are contrary to Supreme Court precedent on their face, the NIH finds good cause that notice-and-comment on this final rule is impractical, unnecessary, and contrary to the public interest.”