US Naval Academy latest school to nix affirmative action in admissions

The United States Naval Academy in Anapolis, Md., recently joined a growing list of schools that will no longer consider race, ethnicity or sex as a factor for admission, court documents made public Friday show.

The move follows an executive order issued by President Trump earlier this year that called for the shuttering of federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and moved to end the use of affirmative action in hiring and admissions practices.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) filing in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals shows that Naval Academy Superintendent, Vice Adm. Yvette Davids, made the decision in February, The Associated Press reported.

The decision comes after U.S. Senior District Judge Richard Bennett upheld the Naval Academy’s race-conscious admissions policy in a 175-page ruling late last year, rejecting a challenge from Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), the same group that successfully argued against the practice at civilian higher education institutions before the Supreme Court in 2023.

The nation's highest court ruled in favor of largely gutting affirmative action at colleges and universities, but the decision did not apply to military academies. SFFA later filed a suit asking that the same ruling be considered for the Naval Academy — despite Bennett's argument that military cohesion and other national security factors meant the school should be subject to different standards.

On Friday, the DOJ asked the district court to pause movement of the case while both sides consider the change in the academy's policy.

"The parties require a reasonable amount of time to discuss the details of the Academy’s new policy and to consider the appropriate next steps for this litigation, including whether this litigation is now moot and, if so, whether the district court judgment should be vacated,” the department wrote, per the AP.

Edward Blum, SFFA's president, lauded the decision.

"Students for Fair Admissions welcomes the announcement that the U.S. Naval Academy will end its unfair and illegal race-based admissions policies," Blum said in a statement, shared with The Hill. "Racial discrimination is wrong and racial classifications have no place at our nation's military academies."

The group has also challenged affirmative action practices at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

The legal battles come as the Trump administration seeks to dismantle the Education Department and laid off nearly half of its staff earlier this month. The president signed executive actions last week that would shutter the department as much as it can without Congressional approval and move programs, such as student loan funding, to other agencies.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.