Trump Administration Targets Medical Schools Over Diversity-Focused Admissions

The Justice and Education departments have launched investigations into medical schools across the country over allegations of racial discrimination in admissions.

Medical schools seeking to diversify the nation’s physician workforce are facing mounting federal scrutiny as the Trump administration challenges admissions practices designed to help produce doctors who will serve Black, Hispanic, and other underserved communities, The Washington Post reports.

The Justice and Education departments have launched investigations into medical schools across the country over allegations of racial discrimination in admissions, according to the outlet. The scrutiny comes three years after the Supreme Court struck down race-conscious admissions in higher education in 2023.

Medical schools have since used race-neutral strategies, including considering applicants’ socioeconomic backgrounds, personal hardships, and interest in practicing in medically underserved areas. Michelle Ko, a University of California, Davis, professor who studies diversity in medical education, told the Post that students from underserved communities are more likely to want to serve those communities after graduation.

“What we are looking for is future physicians who are going to bring the services to the communities who need them,” Ko said.

The Trump administration has taken a broad view of the 2023 ruling, arguing that some ostensibly race-neutral admissions practices could violate federal law if they are used as proxies for race. The legality of certain strategies remains unsettled.

The Justice Department has accused medical schools at UCLA, Yale University, UC Davis, UC San Diego and George Washington University of race-based discrimination. On June 4, the department announced investigations into 15 additional medical schools. The Education Department followed on July 22 by opening investigations into five more institutions.

The financial stakes extend beyond federal funding. On Sept. 3, the Treasury Department and IRS proposed regulations that would deny federal tax-exempt status to private educational institutions that engage in racial discrimination. The proposal, which could affect as many as 18,000 institutions, would still permit schools to consider race-neutral factors such as family income, geographic location, first-generation status, and individual hardship.

“This administration, unlike prior administrations, has put federal funding for an entire institution at risk for an issue in one area, and that’s new,” Frank Trinity, chief legal officer at the Association of American Medical Colleges, told the outlet.

As the legal boundaries continue to be tested, medical schools face heightened pressure over how they pursue missions aimed at addressing physician shortages and improving healthcare access in underserved communities.