A federal judge in Massachusetts ruled on Monday that directives from the Trump administration that led to the cancellations of several research grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) were "void" and "illegal.

A federal judge ruled Monday it was illegal for the Trump administration to cancel several hundred research grants, adding that the cuts raise serious questions about racial discrimination.U.S. District Judge William Young in Massachusetts said the administration's process was “arbitrary and capricious” and that it did not follow long-held government rules and standards when it abruptly canceled grants deemed to focus on gender identity or diversity,

"I've sat on this bench now for 40 years," Judge William Young said. "I've never seen government racial discrimination like this."