In litigation connected to the Trump administration’s federal research actions, court filings and reporting describe how multiple agencies used keyword searches to identify and terminate research grants associated with disfavored topics, including diversity, equity and inclusion. University of California researchers alleged the approach violated First Amendment protections by targeting viewpoint rather than merit. Court documents cited agencies including the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense and the National Endowment for the Humanities, describing keyword lists used to filter grants during award terminations. The reporting also says NSF drew from a 2024 Ted Cruz report alleging politicization of science, with screening terms tied to DEI and other contentious subjects. Separately, higher education and legal stakeholders are also preparing for additional downstream impacts—such as workforce disruptions, broken research timelines, and heightened compliance and documentation burdens for grantmaking across campuses.