The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel concluded that several Education Department grant programs with racial eligibility criteria — including grants for Hispanic‑serving institutions and Native‑serving programs — are unconstitutional, recommending the department repurpose funds or adopt race‑neutral criteria. Secretary Linda McMahon supported the memo, framing it as part of a broader removal of race‑based conditions from taxpayer funding. Separately, legal challenges have proliferated against the Trump administration’s education actions: Education Week tallied roughly 70 lawsuits in 2025 challenging grant cancellations, downsizing of federal offices, and directives on DEI and transgender rights. Some courts have temporarily restored funding while others are still pending, creating a patchwork of legal outcomes for states, K–12 districts and higher education institutions. The DOJ memo and the wave of litigation together create immediate compliance uncertainty for institutions that have relied on long‑standing MSI funding streams and federal discretionary grants. Colleges and policy shops are reassessing program eligibility, grant management and contingency plans for lost or repurposed federal support.