DOJ Crackdown Hits 30 Elite Med Schools

The Department of Justice just told 30 elite medical schools that race-based admissions may be illegal — and the probe is only getting bigger.

Story Highlights

The Justice Department found Yale Medical School discriminated based on race in admissions and has now expanded its probe to 30 medical schools total.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon leads the Civil Rights Division and says no student should be denied access because of their race or national origin.
UCLA and Yale were the first two schools accused of unlawfully favoring Black and Hispanic applicants over others.
Left-leaning civil rights groups oppose Dhillon’s leadership, calling her enforcement priorities a reversal of the division’s mission.

DOJ Targets Race-Based Medical School Admissions

The Department of Justice (DOJ) opened civil rights investigations into 15 medical schools in early June 2026, bringing the total number of schools under review to 30. ^[8] The probes focus on whether these schools used race to decide who gets admitted or receives financial aid. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, has made this a top priority since taking office. ^[6]

Yale Medical School and the University of California, Los Angeles were the first two schools accused. The DOJ said both schools illegally gave Black and Hispanic applicants an advantage in admissions. ^[2] Dhillon’s team publicly stated that no student should be denied access to opportunities because of their race, color, or national origin. ^[3] These investigations follow the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling in Students for Fair Admissions, which struck down race-conscious admissions at colleges nationwide.

What Dhillon Says the Division Is Doing Differently

Dhillon says the Civil Rights Division has returned to its core mission — enforcing the law equally for everyone, regardless of race. ^[12] She argues that race-based admissions policies at medical schools are not just unfair; they likely break federal law under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Title VI bars any school that receives federal money from discriminating based on race. Most major medical schools receive federal funding, which puts them squarely under Title VI rules.

Dhillon was nominated by President Trump in December 2024 and confirmed by the Senate despite strong opposition from left-leaning civil rights organizations. ^[6] Those groups claim her leadership marks a sharp shift away from protecting minority communities. But supporters say she is simply applying the law as written — equally — rather than picking winners and losers based on skin color. ^[14] Her team also expanded the division’s focus to include election integrity and combating antisemitism. ^[5]

Critics Push Back, But the Law Is Clear

Groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other civil rights organizations have loudly opposed Dhillon’s work. ^[4] They argue that race-conscious admissions policies help correct historic inequality. But that argument runs into a wall: the Supreme Court already ruled those policies unconstitutional. The DOJ is not inventing new law here. It is enforcing a ruling that the nation’s highest court already handed down.

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— SG (@GREENESJ333) June 10, 2026

It is also worth noting what these investigations are — and are not. Opening a probe means the DOJ sees enough evidence to look closer. It does not automatically mean a school is guilty. Final findings, settlements, or court rulings carry more legal weight than an investigation alone. ^[3] Still, 30 schools now under review is a serious signal. For decades, elite institutions quietly used race as a thumb on the scale. Dhillon’s DOJ is making clear those days are over. Every applicant — no matter their background — deserves to be judged on merit, not skin color. That is not a radical idea. It is the law.