Three Things You Need to Know About President Trump’s DEI Executive Order and Healthcare

On Tuesday, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at tackling DEI in the private sector and enforcing compliance with the Supreme Court’s ruling that race-based university admissions are illegal.

The executive order has enormous ramifications for medical schools, medical associations, and other healthcare institutions. Many of its broader provisions will directly impact the medical field, while the order makes explicit reference to DEI activities at healthcare institutions as well.

The order has three main areas of focus: race-based admissions at institutions of higher education like medical schools, DEI practices in private sector organizations such as medical associations, and DEI in the federal contracting and grantmaking process.

“This order sends a strong message to the American people that our medical professionals will be guided by merit and excellence, not identity politics,” said Kristina Rasmussen, Executive Director of Do No Harm. “For too long medical schools and associations have embedded DEI in admissions, hiring, curriculum, and scholarships, compromising the integrity of the medical profession and the quality of patient care. We commend President Trump for taking this action to restore trust in our institutions and hope in the American Dream.”

Medical School Admissions

The executive order directed the Attorney General and Secretary of Education to issue guidance ensuring universities’ compliance with Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (SFFA), the landmark Supreme Court case that ruled race-based “affirmative action” admissions were illegal for most institutions of higher education.

“Within 120 days of this order, the Attorney General and the Secretary of Education shall jointly issue guidance to all State and local educational agencies that receive Federal funds, as well as all institutions of higher education that receive Federal grants or participate in the Federal student loan assistance program under Title IV of the Higher Education Act, 20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq., regarding the measures and practices required to comply with Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, 600 U.S. 181 (2023).”

Shoring up compliance with SFFA is essential to tackle discriminatory practices at medical schools. Do No Harm has published two reports in the “Skirting SCOTUS” series laying out how medical schools are likely circumventing the Supreme Court’s ruling in SFFA.

More rigorous enforcement of existing civil rights laws will ensure that capable students will not have life-changing opportunities denied to them on the basis of race.

Private Sector DEI

President Trump asked the heads of federal agencies and departments to produce a strategic enforcement plan for federal civil rights laws identifying the “most egregious and discriminatory DEI practitioners” in their respective areas of concern.

This plan will include specific steps to deter illegal DEI programs and practices, with each agency tasked with identifying “nine potential civil compliance investigations” of private-sector organizations.

Moreover, the executive order explicitly mentions “medical associations” and “institutions of higher education” with endowments over $1 billion, thereby covering many of the most prolific advocates of DEI and racial discrimination in the medical field.

Tackling the discriminatory practices of medical associations is crucial to restoring merit and fairness in the medical field. Do No Harm has cataloged dozens of discriminatory scholarships and opportunities doled out by medical associations on the basis of race.

Do No Harm’s bombshell report on the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) further exposed how the AAMC has injected DEI into nearly every facet of medical education.

Contracting and Grantmaking

The executive order further directed federal agencies to eliminate DEI language and discriminatory practices in the federal contracting and grantmaking process.

“(ii)  Excise references to DEI and DEIA principles, under whatever name they may appear, from Federal acquisition, contracting, grants, and financial assistance procedures to streamline those procedures, improve speed and efficiency, lower costs, and comply with civil-rights laws; and

(iii)  Terminate all ‘diversity,’ ‘equity,’ ‘equitable decision-making,’ ‘equitable deployment of financial and technical assistance,’ ‘advancing equity,’ and like mandates, requirements, programs, or activities, as appropriate.”

The abuse of the federal grantmaking process as a mechanism to advance DEI has been well-documented.

Grant programs backed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), for instance, explicitly discriminate against applicants on the basis of race.

Moreover, NIH research grant listings have included language directing applicants to prioritize certain races when constructing their research team.

Eliminating these discriminatory abuses is necessary to promote excellence and merit in the scientific and medical fields.

Altogether, these steps will go a long way toward restoring Americans’ trust in the medical profession.