Coast Guard ending race-based admissions for officer commissioning program under Trump DEI crackdown

EXCLUSIVE: The U.S. Coast Guard will be ending admissions for college students wanting to commission as officers that take race into consideration as part of the Trump administration’s continued anti-diversity, equity and inclusion initiative, Fox News Digital has learned.

"The Trump Administration is more focused than ever on eliminating unconstitutional DEI policies like this one," DHS General Counsel James Percival said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital on Friday.

He added, "Racial quotas, like those included in this program for students who want to enlist and commission as officers in the U.S. Coast Guard, are a direct violation of the United States Constitution’s equal protection requirements. By getting rid of these unconstitutional diversity quotas, we are returning the Coast Guard’s focus to military readiness, upholding the law, and making America a safer place."

The College Student Pre-Commissioning Initiative (CSPI), program previously included a preference for students from schools that had met quotas for including students from specific racial groups.

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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced at end to those requirements on Thursday.

"Eliminating racial quotas in federal programs remains a priority of the Justice Department," Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said. "Access to opportunities like the Coast Guard’s pre-commissioning initiative should be based exclusively on merit, not the racial composition of your college. This resolution helps ensure that equality of opportunity."

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The Trump administration has taken similar steps to end DEI policies in the federal government and in the military as a whole.

Last week, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth spoke at the graduation ceremony at West Point, telling the cadets,  "The battlefield does not grade on a curve, and you can’t throw your pronouns at the enemy. Combat is the ultimate test, and our best Americans must ace it."

He also accused West Point’s leadership of having attempted to turn West Point into a "woke Princeton."

Fox News Digital's Preston Mizell contributed to this report.