Justice Department Accuses Yale Medical School of Bias Against White and Asian Applicants, 2nd Case in 8 Days
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 14
Justice Department Accuses Yale Medical School of Bias Against White and Asian Applicants, 2nd Case in 8 Days
11 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 14
A six-page Justice Department letter said Yale School of Medicine illegally favored Black and Hispanic applicants over more qualified white and Asian candidates in admissions.
Harmeet Dhillon said Yale used holistic review and interview processes as racial “proxies,” effectively sidestepping the Supreme Court’s 2023 ban on race-conscious admissions.
The department said Yale’s applicant-level data showed “virtually no difference” in racial preferences before and after the ruling, which it called a willful failure to comply.
The Yale finding follows a similar action against UCLA last week, after March investigations into Stanford, Ohio State and UC San Diego and a February suit seeking Harvard admissions data.
The crackdown comes as universities argue the ruling still permits race to be considered through broader factors, while supporters of diversity cite better outcomes when Black and Hispanic patients see similar-race doctors.
Does having a doctor of your own race improve health outcomes, or is it a flawed premise for admissions?
Could class-based affirmative action become the new, legal standard for promoting student diversity in elite schools?
Beyond test scores, what does the ideal future doctor look like, and how can schools legally select for it?
Medical School Admissions Under Fire: DOJ Actions Against Yale and UCLA After Supreme Court’s Affirmative Action Ruling
Overview
In May 2026, the U.S. Justice Department launched major actions against Yale and UCLA Medical Schools, following the 2023 Supreme Court decision that overturned race-conscious admissions. The Trump administration, using a strict interpretation of this ruling, accused these schools of illegal discrimination in their admissions processes. Despite California’s long-standing ban on race-based admissions, the DOJ found new concerns at UCLA and threatened both institutions with severe penalties, including loss of federal funding, if they did not comply. This controversy highlights the growing tension between federal enforcement of civil rights laws and universities’ efforts to maintain diversity after the Supreme Court’s decision.