Naval Academy Certifies It Is Permanently Ceasing Using Race in Admissions
“the consideration of race and ethnicity in admissions at the Naval Academy does not promote military cohesiveness, lethality, recruitment, retention, or legitimacy; national security; or any other governmental interest”
If you have any interest in the U.S. military you know we have been following the Naval Academy affirmative action trial and resulting appeal very closely.
It all started after the stunning victory against race-based admissions in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which we covered extensively: Supreme Court: Harvard and UNC Affirmative Action “invalidated under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment”.
The glaring loophole in that case was that the Court allowed race-based admissions at military service academies to continue. From Footnote 4 of the Court’s opinion:
The United States as amicus curiae contends that race-based admissions programs further compelling interests at our Nation’s military academies. No military academy is a party to these cases, however, and none of the courts below addressed the propriety of race-based admissions systems in that context. This opinion also does not address the issue, in light of the potentially distinct interests that military academies may present.
So Students for Fair Admissions was forced to sue the U.S. Naval Academy, and West Point, which it promptly did.
Due to scheduling issues, the Naval Academy case was ready for a bench (non-jury) trial first, and after eight full days of testimony in the case, and more than two months of deliberation and opinion-writing by the Court, the federal District (trial-level) Court in Maryland ruled, in December 2024, that the Naval Academy could continue to consider race in admissions:
From Reuters: US judge upholds Naval Academy’s race-conscious admissions policies:
A federal judge on Friday ruled that the U.S. Naval Academy may continue to consider race when evaluating candidates to attend the elite military school, even after the U.S. Supreme Court last year barred civilian colleges from employing similar affirmative action policies.
U.S. District Judge Richard Bennett in Baltimore rejected arguments by Students for Fair Admissions, a group founded by affirmative action opponent Edward Blum, that the Annapolis, Maryland-based Naval Academy’s race-conscious admissions program was unconstitutional.
The decision marked a victory for outgoing Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration, which had argued that senior military leaders had long recognized that a scarcity of minority officers could create distrust within the armed forces, which were racially segregated until 1948.
Blum in a statement said the group was disappointed by the ruling and planned to appeal, first to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and, if unsuccessful there, the U.S. Supreme Court.
“It is our hope that the U.S. military academies ultimately will be compelled to follow the Supreme Court’s prohibition of race in college admissions,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Naval Academy, which trains officers for the Navy and the Marine Corps, said it was aware of the ruling and was reviewing it.
The ruling can be reviewed here[.]
Two things happened next. First, Students for Fair Admissions immediately appealed Judge Bennett’s ruling, and then, on January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States.
Which caused this: Naval Academy Will No Longer Use Race in Admissions Decisions, So Legal Fight Put On Hold:
Reuters has the story: US Naval Academy ends race consideration in admissions:
In a policy reversal in line with President Donald Trump‘s views, the U.S. Naval Academy will no longer consider race as a factor in admissions as the elite military school had long done to raise its enrollment of Black, Hispanic and other minorities.
The change was disclosed on Friday [March 28, 2025] in a Justice Department legal filing, in an appeal by a group opposed to such affirmative action policies that challenged the race-conscious admissions program at the Naval Academy, located in Annapolis, Maryland…
Days after returning to office, Trump signed an executive order on January 27 that eliminated diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the military. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was appointed by the Republican president, two days later issued guidance barring the military from establishing “sex-based, race-based or ethnicity-based goals for organizational composition, academic admission or career fields.”
In light of those directives, Naval Academy Superintendent Vice Admiral Yvette Davids issued guidance prohibiting the consideration of race, ethnicity or sex as a factor in its admissions process, the Justice Department filing said…
And now the U.S. Court of Appeals has granted the Government’s Motion to Stay briefing in the Students for Fair Admissions v. Naval Academy case, putting the case on hold while the parties figure out the most elegant and effective way to get rid of it.
In case you were wondering, too, the West Point case has also been stayed (for 90 days) to let the parties figure out what to do.
And now, in the Naval Academy appeal at least, the parties have indeed figured out what they want to do.
From a Monday, June 16, 2025 Department of Justice (who was defending the Naval Academy on appeal) press release: Justice Department Addresses Racial Discrimination in Lawsuit Challenging Race-Based Admissions at United States Naval Academy:
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today announced a joint filing with the plaintiff challenging former race-based admissions practices at the U.S. Naval Academy to dismiss the lawsuit based on the federal government’s commitments to end those practices permanently. The lawsuit challenged race-based admissions at the Academy as unconstitutional under the Fifth Amendment.
“This Department is committed to ending illegal discrimination and restoring merit-based opportunity throughout the federal government,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “We are proud to partner with the Department of Defense to permanently end race-based admissions at the United States Naval Academy and ensure that admission to this prestigious institution is based exclusively on merit.”
The joint filing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit also asks that court to vacate the district court decision on appeal, which upheld race-based admissions, because the appeal has become moot. As explained in the filing, the “Naval Academy changed its admissions policy so that race and ethnicity are no longer considered in any way at any point” and those changes “are intended to be permanent.” And the policy “changes reflect the judgment of the United States—based on the military’s experience and expertise, and after reviewing the record in this case—that the consideration of race and ethnicity in admissions at the Naval Academy does not promote military cohesiveness, lethality, recruitment, retention, or legitimacy; national security; or any other governmental interest.”
Combatting unlawful discrimination is a top priority of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.
[emphasis added]
So not only is the appeal going to be dismissed, but hopefully the Fourth Circuit will agree that Judge Bennett’s trial-level decision should be vacated. I was a bit confused about this at first, but then I realized that Judge Bennett’s decision really wasn’t final – the Fourth Circuit (or the U.S. Supreme Court) could have reversed it at any point, so it is important to make sure that ruling doesn’t stay on the books and contaminate other, future court cases addressing this issue.
You can review the Joint Motion to Dismiss and Vacate here, and below.
Thank God this case is over. The West Point case is still stayed, hopefully it will meet the same end soon.
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Comments
the academy engaged in illegal and/or immoral behavior and cant be trusted as they worked against the american agenda of non racism and freedom and fairness…none of which affirmativeaction aka dei supports
What ensures this will stick when the next woke c*nt gets elected?
No, and we will be right back in court again. This case should not be dismissed as we need to settle this stuff.
The military leadership pushing this at all of the academies need to be removed immediately.
the military under the lefts leadership has melded into a sick and twisted politically motivated ( by some NOT ALL) outfit where many who have obtained senior positions were put there EXCLUSIVELY for their pro lefty agenda…just like under patriots aka trump officers are put in those positions for their maga agenda
So as we know therein lies a huge difference
maga wants a strong military where all have to meet the same standards so that the goals of defeating the enemy of freedom will in fact be defeated
whereas the lefts agenda is to defeat THAT agenda and to further their own political /PERSONAL AGENDA of translgbtq+ poc black matriarch takeover
Congress has to codify the change or else the next dramacrat can just EO it back.
I hope they do codify it, and the debates will be very interesting.
We already know the votes so they can just skip the posturing on CSPAN.
But, the posturing reveals who and what we already know they are. That’s the fun part.
Technically it already IS encoded.
They have to actually hold them to the law.
A problem here, as I see it, is that the court allowed something to continue that is blatantly unconstitutional, on the basis of “national security” and government “interest.” But that’s not how our system is supposed to work. There are no excuses for unconstitutional action. If an act is unconstitutional, that means the government has no authority to act in that manner at all, and the act is disallowed for any reason or purpose. If an unconstitutional act is thought to be necessary, there’s a process by which the Constitution can be amended. The fact this process exists is an indication the authors intended the process to be used and the Constitution admits of no exceptions.
all those thngs take time
politicians have to get to their next cocktail parties
thats just another reason they hate trump
he actually puts in the work
and expects the others to do the same
There’s nothing unconstitutional about it. The challenge was not brought under the constitution, because nothing in the constitution precludes this. It was brought under the racial discrimination laws, but those specifically exempt cases where there’s a genuine valid reason for the discrimination.
In this case, if the national security would be enhanced by ensuring a racially diverse mix of military officers, then discrimination in the appointment of such officers, and therefore in admissions to the schools that form such officers, would be legal, as they undoubtedly were before the civil rights laws were passed in the first place. And whether that is the case is a factual question, not a legal one, so courts are unsuited to determine them and ought to defer to the armed forces’ own judgment.
What happened here is that the armed forces themselves changed their judgment of the facts. They no longer believe their former policy advances national security, so now the courts ought to defer to that altered view.
I disagree on the reason for the change of attitude.
They want to avoid a Supreme Court precedent. This DEI crap at the Academies is incredibly corrosive. My Dad was class of 57 at West Point and a career officer. My wife’s Dad was class of 59. We both grew up in it as army brats. Both of our dads taught there. The acadies function is to turn out effective combat arms officers. Not lawyers, not doctors, not liberal art degrees. For nearly all of it’s existence, it turned out general (civil/mechanical) engineering degree’ed officers, It required them to follow a strict code of honor. An cadet will not lie nor will tolerate anyone who does. Lie or quibble.
Posted too soon. I suspect the other academies have undergone similar changes. It’s not just another University. I misquoted the code: “A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do.”
Anyway not the point. The only issue should be ability.
It’s outrageous that we’re in the 21st century and racial discrimination — cloaked in whatever window-dressing euphemism, e.g., “affirmative action,” “DEI,” etc. — is still being brazenly practiced at schools and companies.
The judges and courts who gave the imprimatur of alleged constitutional legitimacy to supposedly “remedial” racial discrimination are contemptible. This practice should have been buried, decades ago, and would have been, if judges of integrity and constitutional fidelity had presided over these cases.
If this is true, given the highly competitive nature of admission, there will be no future female or black admissions. Right, pull the other one, it’s got bells on it.
I remember when the employment applications had the question of race on the form. They removed it to ensure it wasn’t a factor when making any decision. It seems to be a moot point now that they self identify by their given names; Juvarious, Lateefa, DeShawn, Kadarius, etc. Will they now require to use initials only so as not to be influenced either way?
and the trickery of
give us a life story ……
yeah its always been about race
and they now have the black matriarchy as favored status b/c of their great experiences
the consideration of race and ethnicity in admissions
Now also remove it from considerations while the cadets are there. Take away quotas from various positions, awards, etc.
How can anything this administration does possibly make something permanent? The next Dem administration is sure to change many policies, including this one. Far better to have a court decision striking it down forever.
Universities, including the military academies, have claimed to have eliminated discriminatory practices before, only to be proven to have lied.
It’s no more true now than it was then. As long as those who created or tolerated the discrimination remain in place, the discrimination will continue.
The only way to truly eliminate discrimination is to remove the entire staff, without exception, and the entire curriculum, again without exception. Wipe the slate completely clean and start over.
Military must be meritocracy.