Stephen Miller, a prominent figure in conservative legal advocacy, has recently directed his organization, America First Legal, to challenge the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices at Johns Hopkins University. Miller has secured one legal victory after another over the past few years. One big success prevented a $29 billion Covid-era Small Business Administration program from targeting relief exclusively to restaurants owned by women, veterans, and people from socially and economically disadvantaged groups.
In short, Johns Hopkins is under fresh legal fire. It claims that the university has substituted explicit race-based admissions policies with what Miller’s organization describes as “upstream sorting” and “downstream subsidies.” America First Legal attorney Megan Redshaw vigorously contends that those practices exist to protect racial preferences. She thinks they do it under a false color of law. This initiative comes at a time when the school’s admissions policies are under fire. It focuses on the important and often overlooked ways these policies impact our healthcare workforce.
Miller has pursued aggressively and effectively against CBS and Paramount in federal court. He won those challenges, including a successful suit for discriminating against a white writer on the show Seal Team, as well as this lawsuit against Johns Hopkins. Earlier this year, his organization won a case allowing Maryland parents to opt their children out of lessons involving LGBTQ-themed books. These victories are a testament to Miller’s mission to root out what he sees as discriminatory practices across all industries.
Miller established America First Legal following the 2020 presidential election, with the goal of pursuing the agenda of the Trump administration in the legal sphere. The organization’s most recent complaint against Johns Hopkins highlights its commitment to contesting any real or imagined injustices stemming from DEI programs.
A recent study found a troubling disparity in the medical field. Just 5% of U.S. doctors are Black, while Black Americans constitute 14% of the U.S. population. This lack of diversity has been further exacerbated by a decline in medical school applications from Black and Hispanic students following a recent Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action.
Johns Hopkins University deserve the heavy scrutiny they’re currently facing. It is the only one of those ten elite institutions in a Federal Task Force to fight antisemitism. The lens of scrutiny that these institutions face has cast doubt on their pledges to equity and equity-minded practices. America’s First Legal argues that Johns Hopkins has moved away from training competent physicians and is instead accused of indoctrinating students.
They argue that these funds continue to enable discriminatory practices at Johns Hopkins. It additionally demands a full audit of all money awarded to the university since 2021. Redshaw emphasized the importance of merit and objectivity in medical education, stating:
“The use of DEI-based discrimination in medical education isn’t just illegal, it’s especially indefensible. No sector demands greater adherence to merit and objectivity than medicine, where decisions made by physicians can mean the difference between life and death.” – America First Legal
Research indicates that increasing the diversity of the medical workforce is a critical factor in eliminating racial disparities in healthcare. A 2023 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association uncovers an alarming truth. Black people residing in counties with a higher share of Black primary care physicians can expect to live longer lives. The strength of this association highlights the importance of improving diversity in the healthcare workforce.
The American Medical Association has provided critical guidance on this emerging issue. It points out that Native American patients do not feel safe trusting white doctors due to their historical trauma. These intricacies are just a glimpse at the larger issues within healthcare—what happens when race and trust collide.
America First Legal contends that Johns Hopkins’ primary aim should be education and training. From their perspective, they think the university is double-dealing, recreating systems that work against the very merit-based admissions they try to humble brag about.
Redshaw contended that Johns Hopkins has built a façade around an illegal system:
“Johns Hopkins has constructed a facade of legality around a deeply illegal system. They have replaced explicit race-based admissions with upstream sorting, downstream subsidies, and bureaucratic double-speak designed to preserve racial preferences.” – Megan Redshaw
The controversy surrounding Johns Hopkins grows even larger given the university’s historical connections to slavery. In 2020, the university finally admitted publicly what has long been known — that its founder had owned enslaved people in the 19th century. These kinds of revelations complicate or raise the stakes in discussions of race, representation, and institutional accountability.