The U.S. Naval Academy will no longer consider an applicant’s race, ethnicity or sex during the admissions process, The Baltimore Banner reported, citing new court documents.

The Supreme Court exempted military academies from its 2023 ban on race-conscious admissions, and under the Biden administration, the Naval Academy fought a lawsuit that aimed to change its admissions practices. A federal judge ruled in December that the academy could consider race in admissions, finding that ensuring the military has a diverse officer corps is important to national security.

But the Trump administration’s attack on diversity, equity and inclusion, which officials say is an effort to root out racial discrimination, has upended the Naval Academy’s policies and practices. In an executive order, Trump directed that “every element of the Armed Forces should operate free from any preference based on race or sex.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth then ordered the military academies to end any goals for admissions based on sex, ethnicity or race. 

Students for Fair Admissions president Edward Blum, who sued the academy over affirmative action, said in a statement to the Banner that the policy change “begins the restoration of meritocracy at our nation’s military academies.”