$132 Million: Taxpayer Money Still Funds DEI Programs Despite Trump's Directives
Despite Trump's DEI bans, $132 million in taxpayer funds still flow to National Academies. DOGE has cut billions, but the contracting infrastructure built during Biden years remains intact.
The National Academy of Sciences received $132 million from the federal government last fiscal year while paying its Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer $333,788 and publishing studies documenting that the Black Lives Matter movement shifted public discourse. President Trump's executive orders banning DEI in federal contracting took effect 15 months ago, but taxpayer money continues flowing to nonprofit organizations promoting these agendas through a contracting infrastructure built during the Biden administration.
DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, cut more than $40 million in National Academies contracts in May 2025. The House Appropriations Committee warned federal agencies in September 2025 to "use caution when entering into new agreements" with the congressionally chartered body due to "lack of objective nonpartisan research methods." Yet federal dollars keep funding the organization.
"Last fiscal year, which began under former President Joe Biden, the federal government paid the National Academy of Sciences $132 million," wrote Mark Meadows in a Washington Examiner op-ed. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine received $200.6 million in federal contracts and grants in 2023, according to its treasurer's report, with the Department of Transportation contributing $77.7 million.
President Trump signed Executive Order 14168 on Jan. 20, 2025, "Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government." He followed with an executive order directing all federal agencies to end DEI preferences on Jan. 21. DOGE gained authority through Executive Order 14222 on Feb. 26, 2025, to terminate federal grants and contracts to reduce spending.
DOGE has terminated 15,887 federal grants totaling approximately $49 billion and 13,440 contracts worth $61 billion. The Department of Education alone cancelled $336 million in Regional Educational Laboratory contracts, $33 million in Equity Assistance Center grants, and over $600 million in teacher training grants targeting "divisive ideologies" including critical race theory.
The National Academies' ideological publications include studies calling to curtail "militarized policing" and publishing research documenting that the Black Lives Matter movement shifted public discourse. The organization published research supporting sex change operations for children from workshops promoting transgender ideology. Its leadership compensation includes President Marcia McNutt at $1,061,843 annually and Chief Diversity Officer Laura Castillo-Page at $333,788.
House Oversight Chairman James Comer investigated the National Academies in September 2025 for "fast-tracking" a review of EPA's rescinding of the 2009 Endangerment Finding "without authorization from a U.S. government agency." The organization also receives funding from left-wing megadonors including George Soros' Open Society Foundations, the Ford Foundation, and the Collective Action Fund.
HHS slashed over $350 million in grant funding for gender ideology and DEI research projects in March 2025, terminating more than 500 NIH grants. HUD cancelled $4 million in DEI contracts after launching a DOGE task force. The Institute of Museum and Library Services lost $15 million in DEI grants for programs promoting social justice in libraries and children's museums.
President Trump signed Executive Order 14398 on March 26, 2026, requiring all federal contracts to include anti-DEI clauses within 30 days. The order subjects violators to cancellation, debarment, and False Claims Act liability. This follows a pattern of agencies continuing to fund ideological nonprofits despite previous directives.
"If the National Academies want to continue producing biased reports, then they can get Soros and his friends to pay for them," Meadows argued. "But if they want to do business with the American people, then they must be fair and objective. The Academies can go woke and go broke, or they can reform and get back to their mission."
The Department of Education's press release on Feb. 13, 2025, stated the cancellations targeted "wasteful and ideologically driven spending" and noted that the Regional Educational Laboratory Midwest had been advising schools in Ohio to undertake "equity audits" and "equity conversations." REL Midwest specifically faced termination for recommending Ohio schools undertake "equity conversations."
"DOGE has terminated $350 million in federal contracts to the DOE's 'regional education laboratories' and 'equity assistance centers,'" wrote conservative activist Christopher Rufo on X. "We expose corruption on X, then DOGE wipes it out in D.C."
A NASEM spokesperson stated the organization "has taken measures to ensure that we are in compliance with executive orders, including closing our Office of Diversity and Inclusion." The organization reported 58 percent of its funding came from government sources in 2024, down from a figure the New York Times reported in 2023 as 70 percent of its budget coming from federal funds.
The nonprofit-government contracting nexus that channeled federal money into ideological activism during the Biden years remains substantially intact despite DOGE's efforts. While 85 percent of nonprofits report experiencing some impact from federal funding changes, major institutions like the National Academies continue receiving nine-figure contracts.