America First Legal Newsletter – January 10, 2026

America First Legal is entering 2026 laser-focused on defending the rule of law and standing with the American people. No organization is fighting more aggressively to restore merit, equal treatment, and America First principles across our institutions.

This past week, AFL took action to:

• Expose  Washington University’s systemic DEI discrimination.

• Call on the U.S. Department of Energy to eliminate woke DEI policies.

• Block the University of California from dodging accountability for engaging in race-based admissions practices.

THIS WEEK’S KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

AFL filed a sweeping civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) demanding an investigation into Washington University (WashU) in St. Louis for systemic, race- and sex-based DEI discrimination. The complaint details how DEI ideology permeates admissions, hiring, grading, contracting, and research through race-conscious policies that violate U.S. Supreme Court precedent and Title VI. 

WashU has deliberately defied federal civil rights law by rebranding its DEI bureaucracy as “Inclusive Excellence” while keeping the same unlawful practices in place — and receiving billions in federal taxpayer dollars. AFL is urging DOJ to take enforcement action and restore merit, equal treatment, and the rule of law in higher education.

AFL President Gene Hamilton joined Lara Trump on Fox News to discuss the capture of Nicolas Maduro and the victory President Trump delivered for the Western Hemisphere.

Watch the interview here.

America First Legal Petitions U.S. Department of Energy to Rescind Biden-Era Regulation Mandating Illegal DEI Discrimination in Federal Contracting

AFL has filed a formal petition demanding that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) rescind a federal contracting rule that forces contractors to adopt race- and sex-based DEI plans as a condition of doing business with the federal government. Expanded in 2024 to advance unlawful Biden-era diversity ideology, the regulation pressures employers to engage in unlawful quotas and preferences, violating federal civil rights law and the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection. 

While President Trump’s DOE has stopped enforcing the regulation, the rule remains on the books and could be revived at any time. Only full rescission will restore a neutral, merit-based system that treats all Americans equally under the law.

A federal district court has rejected the University of California’s (UC) attempt to dismiss a lawsuit brought by AFL, allowing a major challenge to UC’s race-based admissions policies to move forward. The ruling forces UC into discovery, where it must finally answer for and defend its so-called “holistic” admissions practices on the merits. The university is unlawfully using racial preferences in direct violation of the Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which bans race-based admissions in any form.

The district court agreed the complaint plausibly alleges illegal discrimination and confirmed the plaintiffs have standing to sue. The decision is a clear message that public universities are not above the law and that merit, not race, must govern admissions.

AMERICA FIRST LEGAL IN THE NEWS: 

Fox News: Watchdog urges DOJ probe of top research university over alleged illegal DEI practices: ‘Defies common sense'

“In the 165-page complaint sent to the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division and obtained by Fox News Digital, America First Legal argues that Washington University in St. Louis has systematically embedded DEI ideology across admissions, hiring, curriculum, contracting and student services while at the same time receiving a significant amount of federal funding.

The complaint outlines how the school operated a Bias Report and Support System that encourages anonymous reports for perceived ‘bias,’ including protected speech, which America First Legal claims chills expression and enforces ideological conformity.

The complaint flags federally funded research and training programs at the university that America First Legal says explicitly aim to increase participation from ‘underrepresented’ racial and ethnic groups, arguing that such goals amount to unlawful preferences.”

America First Legal Foundation is an IRS-approved section 501(c)(3) public charity. Your donation to America First Legal Foundation is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

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