Justice Neil Gorsuch issued a pointed warning criticizing lower courts for repeatedly defying Supreme Court decisions in cases involving the Trump administration.
Gorsuch, writing in an opinion joined by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, said the Court’s decision allowing the administration to move forward with cutting millions in National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants was the “third time in a matter of weeks” that the justices had to overturn a lower court on an issue it had already addressed.
“Lower court judges may sometimes disagree with this Court’s decisions, but they are never free to defy them,” Gorsuch wrote.
The case before the Court involved the Trump administration’s decision to terminate NIH grants tied to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and gender ideology-related programs.
Earlier in April, the Supreme Court had already upheld the administration’s move to end similar DEI-related teacher training grants.
Despite that ruling, a district court in June allowed a lawsuit over NIH grants to proceed.
That court relied on the opinions of dissenting justices and a previously rejected appellate ruling to justify blocking the administration’s termination of the grants.
Gorsuch said that approach violated one of the core promises of the legal system.
“If nothing