The Trump administration’s crackdown on DEI in academia and the business world is about to hit a roadblock that was created by none other than Justice Clarence Thomas in a little-noticed Supreme Court decision last month.
Thomas undermined the Justice Department’s ability to use the False Claims Act to prosecute cases based on political or cultural preferences baked into government contracts, like minority hiring requirements. That just so happens to also be the very method that the White House has telegraphed it plans to use to forcefully eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at schools and companies that receive federal money.
“It is ironic that this conservative, Republican appointee may have laid a trap for this administration,” said David L. Douglass, a former federal prosecutor who specializes in False Claims Act litigation.