The U.S. Department of Justice wants to dismiss an appeal filed by a group suing over race-based admissions practices in the U.S. Naval Academy after the school changed it policies.
“This department is committed to ending illegal discrimination and restoring merit-based opportunity throughout the federal government,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said Monday.
A 2023 Supreme Court decision found that considering race as part of college admissions process was unconstitutional, but did not address admissions at military institutions.
The nonprofit Students for Fair Admissions challenged the continued consideration of race in the United States Naval Academy after the high court’s ruling. A district court struck down the nonprofit’s challenge and said it “defers to the executive branch with respect to military and personnel decisions” which include military academy admissions.
However, President Donald Trump’s Jan. 27 executive order upended the practice in military academies across the country, which led to the Naval Academy no longer considering race or ethnicity in its admissions process.
“The United States no longer believes that the challenged practices were justified by a compelling national security interest in a diverse officer corps in the Navy and Marine Corps,” a DOJ legal filing read.
The DOJ’s challenge asks the U.S Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to vacate the district court’s decision, which upheld race-based admissions because it is now “moot.”
“The Naval Academy changed its admissions policy so that race and ethnicity are no longer considered in any way at any point,” the legal filing read.
“We are proud to partner with the Department of Defense to permanently end race-based admissions at the United States Naval academy and ensure that admission to this prestigious institution is based exclusively on merit,” Bondi said.
