Trump Justice Dept. reaches agreement barring race-based admissions at West Point, Air Force Academy

The Justice Department has announced a civil settlement that ensures race-based admissions won’t be allowed at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and the U.S. Air Force Academy.

“This Department is committed to eliminating DEI practices throughout the federal government,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “We are proud to partner with the Department of Defense to permanently end race-based admissions at West Point and the Air Force Academy — admission to these prestigious military institutions should be based exclusively on merit.”

U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York said that America is a land of equal opportunity.

“Today’s agreement ensures that our future military leaders will carry on the greatness that is born of opportunity, effort, and a level playing field,” he said.

Students for Fair Admissions, the same organization that successfully struck down affirmative action at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina in 2022, had filed two lawsuits, saying the race-based admission practices at the military academies ran afoul of the Constitution.

The Biden Justice Department initially fought the lawsuits. But the Trump administration reached an agreement over ending diversity, equity and inclusion protocols, in which the lawsuits were dropped.

The Justice Department agreed to ensure that the admissions at these military academies are based on merit and not race. A spokesperson from Students for Fair Admissions did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The department said a similar lawsuit out of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals involving the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis concerning race-based admissions was resolved earlier this year.

Students for Fair Admissions sued West Point last September. The lawsuit said the military was desegregated, but recent moves had set racial goals for hiring and diversifying the academy’s members.

The lawsuit said the consideration of race runs afoul of the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution, which requires the federal government to provide equal protection and treatment for all.

If it’s unlawful for civilian schools to use race as an admissions factor, the lawsuit argued, it should also be unlawful for the military.

When the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action policies at private and state schools last summer in its 6-3 ruling, it provided a footnote noting that military academies were not part of the case.

“No military academy is a party to these cases, but none of the courts below addressed the propriety of race-based admissions systems in that context. This opinion also does not address the issue, in light of the potentially distinct interests that military academies may present,” a footnote in the ruling read.

Advocates for affirmative action at the time had told the justices that diversity in the military was a goal and that any ruling outlawing the use of race could lead to problems with ranks and races in the armed forces.