Federal judge rejects challenge to Naval Academy’s use of race in admissions practices

A federal judge has rejected a challenge to the Naval Academy’s use of race in its admissions practices, ruling that the school has “established a compelling national security interest” in maintaining diversity within the US military.

A federal judge has rejected a challenge to the Naval Academy’s use of race in its admissions practices, ruling that the school has “established a compelling national security interest” in maintaining diversity within the US military. While the ruling issued Friday by US Senior District Judge Richard Bennett, a George W. Bush appointee, represents a significant blow to the legal effort to nix affirmative action policies at the academy, it also makes clear that decisions on such matters begin and end with the executive branch – which will soon be controlled by a commander in chief who has shown hostility to such diversity efforts. President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, has criticized the military’s diversity programs, saying in a podcast, “Woke sh*t has got to go.” “Either you’re in for warfighting and that’s it, that’s the only litmus test we care about,” he said. “You’ve got to get DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) and CRT (critical race theory) out of military academies so you’re not training young officers to be baptized in this type of thinking.” In the 179-page ruling, Bennett wrote: “At bottom, the Court, considering all evidence before it, finds that the military’s interest in growing and maintaining a highly qualified and diverse officer corps is informed by history and learned experience, and that a highly qualified and diverse officer corps remains critical for military effectiveness and thus for national security.” “Plaintiff’s suggestion to the contrary contradicts decades of broad historical and military consensus,” Bennett added, referring to the conservative group Students for Fair Admissions, which brought the case in federal court in Maryland.