Trump Administration Opens Investigation into Race in Admissions at Stanford Medical School

The Trump administration has opened investigations into how race is considered in admissions at Stanford University, Ohio State and the University of California, San Diego, ratcheting up its pressure campaign against colleges and universities.

Harmeet Dhillon, the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for civil rights, announced the investigations Wednesday on X.

Through a series of investigations and executive actions, President Donald Trump has been ramping up scrutiny of universities he decries as overrun by liberal influence. His administration previously has targeted undergraduate admissions at selective colleges, demanding they collect data to show they are in line with a 2023 Supreme Court decision forbidding affirmative action in college admissions.

The investigations were reported first by The New York Times.

In a letter to Ohio State, Dhillon wrote that the Justice Department was seeking any documents related to “the use or lack of use of race” in evaluating applicants. She said they were also seeking all applicant-level admissions data and any reviews by the school of admissions trends or outcomes by race.

A separate, five-page document details the records the government is seeking. It includes data on standardized test scores, information collected or inferred on race and ethnicity, and admissions decisions for each applicant going back to the incoming class that started in 2019.

Ohio State spokesperson Benjamin Johnson said the school is compliant with state and federal regulations and legal rulings regarding admissions. “We’ve received the attached letter and will respond appropriately,” he said.

UC San Diego said in a written statement that it was reviewing the notice from the Justice Department. “UC San Diego is committed to fair processes in all of our programs and activities, including admissions, consistent with federal and state anti-discrimination laws,” the university said in a written statement.

Stanford School of Medicine spokesperson Cecilia Arradaza said it was reviewing the letter. “Stanford School of Medicine prohibits unlawful discrimination on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law,” Arradaza said in a written statement.

The Justice Department confirmed to KQED that the initial focus of the investigation is admissions.

The Supreme Court ruling that banned the use of affirmative action in admissions said colleges could still consider how race has shaped students’ lives if applicants share that information in their admissions essays. Trump has raised concerns that colleges and universities were using personal statements and other proxies to consider race, which he views as illegal discrimination.

Earlier this month, a coalition of 17 Democratic state attorneys general filed a lawsuit challenging a Trump administration policy that requires higher education institutions to collect data showing they aren’t considering race in admissions. A federal judge in Massachusetts is weighing their request to block the demand.

KQED’s Sara Gaiser contributed to this report.