NEW HAVEN — The Trump administration is investigating Yale University's admissions policies, expanding the inquiry to include its law school, medical school, and undergraduate college. The Department of Justice claims Yale's medical school discriminated against white and Asian applicants.

A group of students, faculty, and alumni demanded on July 10, 2026, that Yale refuse to settle with the administration. Yale hired the law firm McGuireWoods to negotiate with the government. The Justice Department issued a six-page letter in May 2026, concluding that the Yale School of Medicine discriminated against other applicants to benefit preferred race classes of Black and Hispanic students.

The American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers wrote a letter to Yale President Maurie McInnis and the university's Board of Trustees. Yale's student government also sent a request to McInnis and the Board. An online petition demanding Yale defend its academic independence had more than 4,000 signatures as of Thursday evening, July 9, 2026. The petition text stated, "In the face of a politically-motivated Department of Justice, Yale must use every tool in its arsenal to defend its right to pursue this core goal through lawful means."

Sher Tremonte LLP, which represents Yale's American Association of University Professors (AAUP) chapter, wrote a letter to McInnis regarding the findings. The law firm stated, "The DOJ's factual findings are bogus—cherry-picked, statistically weak, and presented without appropriate context or support in the record." Muneer Ahmad, a law professor and general counsel for the Yale AAUP, spoke at a news briefing on Thursday, July 9, 2026. Ahmad said, "Even if the government were able to overcome all of these substantial substantive and procedural requirements, at most they could withdraw funds that are related to the admissions office and not withdraw funds from the university as a whole." Ahmad added, "For Yale to cave in the face of baseless factual allegations and unfounded legal claims risks further erosion of public trust in Yale and in higher education at large."

The Department of Justice based its finding on variations in median test scores and grades. Black students who matriculated in 2025 had MCAT scores in the 95th percentile, while Hispanic students who matriculated in 2025 had MCAT scores in the 94th percentile. White and Asian students who matriculated in 2025 had MCAT scores in the 100th percentile. The American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers stated, "The choice before Yale is not simply whether to settle one investigation. It is whether to participate in a broader campaign to turn civil rights enforcement into a mechanism of political control over higher education."