HHS Opens DEI Probe Into Health Scholarship in D.C.

The Health and Human Services' Office of Civil Rights on Friday launched a probe into AcademyHealth, a D.C.-based health research organization, over claims it excludes white applicants from one of its scholarships, reports the Washington Examiner.

"The Office for Civil Rights will faithfully apply civil rights law using a colorblind lens to root out discriminatory criteria and promote individual excellence, grit, and hard work,"Anthony Archeval, acting director of the HHS civil rights division, said in a statement obtained by the Examiner.

Trump in January signed an executive order ending diversity, equity, and inclusion programs within the federal government, which he and conservatives have long condemned as discriminatory.

The effort escalates a push President Donald Trump made in his last term as president and relies on the same tools his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, used to try to promote DEI programs across American life by embedding the priority into rules for federal contractors and grant recipients.

The probe into AcademyHealth is the sixth by the HHS' Office of Civil Rights.

It is focused on the organization's "equity, diversity, and inclusion scholarship."

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