Watchdog urges DOJ probe of top research university over alleged illegal DEI practices: ‘Defies common sense’

FIRST ON FOX: A conservative legal group has filed a formal complaint calling for a probe into one of the nation’s most prominent research schools alleging the school is continuing illegal race and sex-based discrimination through its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.

In the 165-page complaint sent to the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division and obtained by Fox News Digital, America First Legal argues that Washington University in St. Louis has systematically embedded DEI ideology across admissions, hiring, curriculum, contracting and student services while at the same time receiving a significant amount of federal funding. 

The complaint alleges that WashU violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 through race-conscious admissions practices and diversity statements, race-based student services and pipeline programs, supplier diversity programs steering contracts based on race, and federally funded grants prioritizing “underrepresented” racial groups.

WashU, according to America First Legal’s complaint, has received more than $3.1 billion in federal funding since 2021, including hundreds of millions from the National Institutes of Health, while operating programs that allegedly prioritize certain racial and ethnic groups in possible violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling in Students for Fair Admissions.

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Additionally, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14151 in 2025, which prohibits race- and sex-based DEI structures and preferences in federally funded programs.

The complaint outlines how the school operated a Bias Report and Support System that encourages anonymous reports for perceived “bias,” including protected speech, which America First Legal claims chills expression and enforces ideological conformity.

DEI is so prominent at WashU, according to the complaint, that it conditioned grading and professional advancement at its Olin Business School on compliance with DEI frameworks, allegedly segregating students by race, sex, and identity in coursework and penalizing dissent through grading and evaluations.

The complaint flags federally funded research and training programs at the university that America First Legals says explicitly aim to increase participation from “underrepresented” racial and ethnic groups, arguing that such goals amount to unlawful preferences. It further claims the university operates race-based student services, supplier diversity initiatives and pipeline programs designed to shape admissions outcomes indirectly.

“This position defies common sense. Institutions that are complying with the law do not spend months delaying action and convening lawyers to figure out how to proceed,” Megan Redshaw, an attorney at America First Legal, said in a press release.

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“Washington University did not misunderstand the law. It chose to ignore it and preserve unlawful DEI practices through rebranding, bureaucratic maneuvering, and euphemisms. That is not compliance. It is concealment.”

America First Legal is asking the DOJ to open a formal investigation, require WashU to dismantle DEI offices and programs, audit federal funds received since 2021, and potentially suspend or condition future federal funding until the university certifies compliance with civil rights law.

Fox News Digital reached out to WashU for comment.

Last year, Fox News Digital first reported that the Washington University School of Medicine, according to America First Legal, moved their DEI office to a restricted floor rather than shut it down in line with the Trump administration’s efforts.