Education and health experts say this could harm patient care. 

The Trump administration's crackdown on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programsopens in a new tab or window could exacerbate an unexpectedly steep drop in diversity among medical school students, even in states like California, where public universities have been navigating bans on affirmative action for decades. Education and health experts warn that, ultimately, this could harm patient care. [MedPage Today]

Since taking office, President Donald Trump has issued a handful of executive orders aimed at terminating all DEI initiatives in federally funded programs. And in his March 4 address to Congressopens in a new tab or window, he described the Supreme Court's 2023 decision banning the consideration of race in college and university admissions as "brave and very powerful."

Last month, the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights -- which lost about 50% of its staffopens in a new tab or window in mid-March -- directed schools, including postsecondary institutions, to end race-based programs or risk losing federal funding. The "Dear Colleague" letteropens in a new tab or window cited the Supreme Court's decision.

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