“Because the agencies’ termination of grants is aimed at the suppression of viewpoints with which the government disagrees, it likely violates the First Amendment.”
In a suit brought by six researchers at the University of California after three federal agencies terminated research grants en masse pursuant to Executive Orders issued by President Trump, the Ninth Circuit affirmed in part a preliminary injunction issued by a district court on behalf of two provisional classes. The appeals court upheld the preliminary injunction as to those grants that were purportedly terminated based on EOs implemented by the agencies that sought to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI Termination Class) as that class is likely to succeed on the merits of its viewpoint discrimination claim. It reversed, however, the injunction with respect to that class whose grants were terminated by form letter (Form Termination Class) without any grant specific explanation. Judge Christen concurred in the court’s opinion (Thakur v. Trump, No. 25-4249 (9th Cir. May 26, 2026)).
In April 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency, National Science Foundation, and National Endowment for the Humanities sent form letters to UC Berkley that purported to terminate grant awards that no longer effectuated the program goals or agency priorities. According to the plaintiffs, six UC researchers who applied for and received multi-year grants from the agencies, these terminations resulted from the agencies’...
WASHINGTON, July 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- This release is issued by King & Spalding: The U.S. Department of Justice has announced that New York Packaging II LLC, doing business as Redi-Bag USA,...