Former President Donald Trump has just vowed, if elected president in 2024, to eliminate so-called Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs from the federal government.
Trump did so, according to Reuters, during the Moms for Liberty Summit that was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Friday.
There, Trump said, "To rigorously enforce yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling, I will eliminate all ‘Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion’ programs across the entire federal government."
Here, Trump was referring to the highly significant ruling that the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court released on Thursday.
In a 6 to 3 decision on Thursday, the justices of the Supreme Court ruled that using race as a factor in college admissions is a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.
The majority opinion was written by Chief Justice John Roberts, and it was joined by Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.
This, of course, means that the court's liberal contingent - Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson - all dissented.
Roberts, in the majority opinion, wrote that many universities "have concluded, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the color of their skin."
"Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice," he added.
Trump, indirectly, played a big role in Thursday's Supreme Court decision as he nominated three of the six justices who struck down the race-based admissions practices. These three justices are Associate Justices Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett.
Trump, following the decision, took to Truth Social to celebrate.
"This is a great day for America," he wrote. "People with extraordinary ability and everything else necessary for success, including future greatness for our Country, are finally being rewarded."
Trump continued:
This is the ruling everyone was waiting and hoping for and the result was amazing. It will also keep us competitive with the rest of the world. Our greatest minds must be cherished and that’s what this wonderful day has brought. We’re going back to all merit-based—and that’s the way it should be!
Many are hoping that Trump is right - that America will return to the days of being a meritocracy - while others are skeptical about this, suggesting that colleges and universities will find ways to circumvent the Supreme Court's ruling - to continue using race in their admissions practices. Time will tell.
