Federal Judge Blocks Trump Administration DEI Grant Cuts

U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley of the District of Massachusetts struck down a February 2025 Trump administration directive that terminated more than $600 million in grants for teacher-training and education programs. The Education Department had acted under the Teacher Quality Partnership and Supporting Effective Educator Development programs, withdrawing more than 90 percent of those grants. Of 109 canceled grants, 40 went to institutions in the eight Democratic-led states that sued: California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, New York and Wisconsin. In April 2025 the Supreme Court allowed the cuts to proceed while the case was pending. Kelley wrote, "The Directive does not acknowledge the fact that thousands of teachers, as well as teachers in teacher-training pipelines, would be affected, upending the careers of much-needed educators." President Donald Trump said in his Feb. 24, 2025, State of the Union address, "We ended DEI in America." A January 2025 executive order had directed agencies to end "illegal discrimination and preferences" based on race and sex. The grants covered topics including critical race theory, social justice, anti-racism, "white privilege," "white supremacy," and race-based recruiting. Lawsuits to recover lost grant money will proceed in the Court of Federal Claims.