One year into the second Trump administration, the fight against diversity, equity, and inclusion needs to shift. President Donald Trump has made historic progress rolling back this racist and discriminatory ideology through a slew of executive orders and investigations. But while many institutions have ditched DEI, others have gone underground. That’s especially true at private organizations, including major companies and universities. Defeating DEI can’t depend solely on outside pressure from Washington, D.C. New heroes are needed on the inside — namely, whistleblowers.
The Trump administration knows this and has been preparing for stage two. Last year, the Department of Justice created a task force to investigate federally funded organizations that violate civil rights laws, which many DEI programs do by demanding unequal and discriminatory treatment. The task force can launch investigations on its own, which it has started to do against companies such as Google and Verizon, but it ultimately depends on whistleblowers.
Here’s why: When companies or educational institutions sign federal contracts or receive federal grants, they agree not to violate civil rights laws. Yet maintaining DEI programs could be a violation, and under the False Claims Act, whistleblowers can report it. They can even get a share of any penalties the federal government levies against the offenders.
Basically, the Trump administration has issued a call to action to whistleblowers nationwide: Do what’s right and you’ll do well yourself. Some whistleblowers have earned millions of dollars.
There’s no shortage of opportunities for potential whistleblowers. My organization has sued everything from law firms to major companies for offering DEI-driven, race-based programs that clearly violate civil rights laws. But for every violation we know about, there are many more we aren’t aware of. Whistleblowers should contact groups such as mine if they see discrimination.
Major healthcare providers and hospitals are a good place to start. The Seattle Children’s Hospital renamed its DEI initiative to avoid federal scrutiny, reportedly violating federal policy. The Cleveland Clinic has a range of recruitment strategies and supplier policies that prioritize race. This is exactly the kind of divisive and potentially illegal activity that whistleblowers should unearth.
Then there are private universities, where DEI is alive and well. In a new report, my colleagues found that more than a third of American medical schools still have active DEI offices, despite the Trump administration’s efforts to shut them down. Many are private organizations, and their references to racial discrimination are thinly veiled at best. This is a golden opportunity for whistleblowers—everyone from medical students to faculty and staff.
Consider Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore. It still brags about “recruitment and retention of a diverse student body, and sponsoring activities to increase diversity.” That language hints at affirmative action that’s illegal under federal law, based on the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard. The same goes for George Washington University’s School of Medicine and Health Sciences. It still talks about “implementing metrics to support inclusive and excellence-driven hiring practices” — the key word being “inclusive.” That’s the quintessential DEI code for racial preferences.
Given this clever wordplay, some may wonder whether medical schools are actually on the up and up — whether they’ve actually gotten rid of illegal discrimination, even as they keep the DEI name or focus. But that’s highly unlikely, given what’s already been released to the public.
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The latest national medical school admissions data show that accepted students are still held to wildly different standards, based on their race. In the current academic year, Asian and white people had average MCAT scores in the 89th and 84th percentiles, respectively, while black and Hispanic people were in the 71st and 70th percentiles, respectively. This is tantamount to admitting that race still dictates who gets accepted. It also indicates that discrimination is widespread at medical schools nationwide, not just at the third of schools that have kept DEI offices.
Whether it’s major companies or medical schools, many private organizations have no intention of ditching DEI or the discrimination it demands. That racist ideology is too deeply embedded to be rooted out solely by outside force. Insiders must now speak up, especially the students and staff who have the clearest view of what’s really happening. If more courageous and principled Americans blow the whistle, then DEI’s days are truly numbered.
Kristina Rasmussen is the executive director of Do No Harm.