Basic cadet candidates from the class of 2029 arrive at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., for in-processing on June 25, 2025. The Justice Department settled lawsuits challenging race-based admissions at the Colorado school and also at the U.S. Military Academy. (Trevor Cokley/U.S. Air Force)
The Justice Department this week settled lawsuits challenging race-based admissions at the U.S. Military Academy and the Air Force Academy, ending years of legal battles over how the elite military schools select officer candidates.
The settlements with the nonprofit group Students for Fair Admissions follow the decision of President Donald Trump’s administration soon after taking office to stop considering race as an admissions factor at the service academies.
The agreement avoids the need for continued litigation and includes terms that help ensure that admission is not based on race or ethnicity, a Justice Department statement Tuesday said.
“Admission to these prestigious military institutions should be based exclusively on merit,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in the statement.
Upon taking office in January, Trump approved a series of executive orders to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives from the federal government, including a directive to military academies to halt the practice of race-based admissions.
The previous administration had defended using race in a limited way as part of a holistic review of each service academy applicant.
Students for Fair Admissions filed lawsuits against West Point, the Air Force Academy and the Naval Academy in 2023 after the U.S. Supreme Court said military service academies aren’t subject to the landmark ruling that ended affirmative action at colleges.
The court at the time said military academies were not considered in that case “in light of the potentially distinct interests” they may present.
In its suit against West Point, the nonprofit group argued that the institution used race as a determinative factor in its admissions process and unconstitutionally weighed it against other considerations, such as objective metrics and leadership potential.
President Joe Biden’s administration countered that the academies used race in a limited manner, and that they benefitted from race considerations because the military needed a well-qualified and diverse officer corps to lead an increasingly diverse group of fighters.
Litigation in all three cases had continued when Trump took office. Shortly afterward, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a memo ordering an end to race-based admissions at military academies.
A federal judge in July dismissed the suit against the Naval Academy at the request of both Students for Fair Admissions and the Justice Department.
