A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration’s move to cancel over $1 billion in research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) — specifically targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives — was unlawful and discriminatory.

US District Judge William Young, presiding in Boston, declared the funding terminations “void and illegal,” affirming that the decision violated federal laws and discriminated against minority groups. Young, a Reagan-era appointee, said he would reinstate the defunded grants for organizations and Democratic-led states that had filed legal challenges.

“I’ve never seen a record where racial discrimination was so palpable,” Young stated during the trial. “Any discrimination by our government is so wrong that it requires the court to enjoin it—and at an appropriate time, I’m going to do it.”

The NIH, the world’s largest publicly funded biomedical research agency, distributes around 60,000 grants annually to nearly 3,000 institutions. Under Trump’s second term, the agency terminated 2,100 grants worth approximately $9.5 billion and cut an additional $2.6 billion in contracts, many of which were tied to minority health research and DEI goals.

The court ruling comes as a sharp rebuke to the administration’s broader efforts to dismantle diversity-focused federal programs. Critics of the cuts argued they set back decades of progress in health equity and minority representation in research.

This legal victory is seen as a significant win for proponents of inclusive scientific research and is likely to impact future federal funding policies under scrutiny for discriminatory intent.