U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon recently released a new statement regarding the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel’s (OLC) opinion on the constitutionality of racial quotas and preferences in the Department of Education’s Minority-Serving Institution (MSIs) programs.
“I agree with the Office of Legal Counsel opinion, which confirms that using race quotas and preferences to determine eligibility for federal education funding programs is unconstitutional,” said McMahon. “We cannot, and must not, attach race-based conditions when allocating taxpayer funding. This is another concrete step from the Trump Administration to put a stop to DEI in government and ensure taxpayer dollars support programs that advance merit and fairness in all aspects of Americans’ lives. The Department of Education looks forward to working with Congress to reform these programs.”
The OLC’s opinion follows the U.S. Solicitor General’s determination in July 2025 that Hispanic-Serving Institutions program “violate the equal-protection component of the Constitution’s Due Process Clause,” and that the Department of Justice would not defend them in ongoing litigation. In response, the Department of Education asked the OLC to assess whether higher education programs that determine institutional eligibility for benefits based on race are unconstitutional in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.
Two months later, the Department of Education announced it would redirect some $350 million in discretionary funds initially allocated for programs supporting MSIs in fiscal year 2025 “into programs that do not include discriminatory racial and ethnic quotas that advance administration priorities.”
Now, the Department of Education is currently evaluating the full impact of the OLC’s opinion on several affected programs related to MSIs. Among others, these include TRIO Student Support Services, as well as formula grants and competitive grants allocated for Predominately Black Institutions. Notably, this evaluation does not include programs specific to historically Black colleges and universities.
