FIRST ON FOX—New York could face legal action over a state-funded college enrichment program after two groups warned Gov. Kathy Hochul that the program’s eligibility rules allow for discrimination against White and Asian students.

In a demand letter sent Wednesday and obtained by Fox News Digital, the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) and the Equal Protection Project (EPP) urged Hochul and Education Department Commissioner Betty A. Rosa to change the state-funded Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP), arguing it violates the Equal Protection Clause by authorizing eligibility based on race and ethnicity.

CSTEP, a grant-funded program sponsored by the New York State Department of Education, is an academic and professional development program intended to help minority students and economically disadvantaged students pursue careers in math, science, technology and health-related fields. Under state law, the program offers financial aid, tutoring, counseling and remedial and special summer courses to eligible students.

State regulations limit eligibility to those who are either economically disadvantaged or those who are "historically underrepresented" minorities, defined as Black, Hispanic, American Indian or Alaskan Native students. The two groups argue this allows for discrimination against White and Asian students, who have to prove they are economically disadvantaged to qualify.

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After PLF and EPP filed a federal lawsuit in 2024 challenging the state's sister program for high school students — STEP — New York officials issued interim guidance to program administrators in 2025 saying they may base eligibility decisions for new students in both programs solely on economic disadvantage and "without regard" to race or ethnicity.

But PLF and EPP argue some campuses still apply or advertise the "historically underrepresented" requirement. They point to the University at Albany’s CSTEP page, which states applicants may qualify as "economically disadvantaged and/or historically underrepresented" and lists underrepresented minority groups. The website also says it is "not currently accepting new applications."

The letter asks the governor to say by March 25 whether New York will eliminate race as an eligibility criterion for CSTEP, or potentially face further legal action.

"The Supreme Court has made clear that state programs that allocate benefits or opportunities based on race are presumptively unconstitutional," the groups wrote, citing the 2023 Students for Fair Admissions decision.

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In a statement to Fox News Digital, Cornell law professor and founder of the Equal Protection Project, William Jacobson, said, "It is shameful that the State of New York requires, funds, and defends racially discriminatory programming just because the victims are Asian and White students. This would never be tolerated if the victims were Black or Hispanic."

Erin Wilcox, a senior attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation, said, "CSTEP should be open to all qualified students, regardless of race."

"Racial discrimination has no place in a publicly-funded program like CSTEP, and NYSED should stop funding CSTEP programs that treat applicants differently based on race or ethnicity," she continued in a statement to Fox News Digital. "It's time for Commissioner Rosa and her department to show they're serious about equal opportunity for all New York students." 

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PLF and EPP are already challenging STEP in a similar case in federal court in Chu v. Rosa. The case was filed in January 2024, and allowed to proceed in November 2024, after U.S. District Judge David N. Hurd denied the state’s motion to dismiss.

Jacobson thanked the Asian parents and organizations "who were brave enough to be plaintiffs" in the STEP court case, saying the college program "also deserves legal challenge" and invited Asian and White students who've been discriminated against through this program to share their story.

Gov. Hochul's office and New York Education Department Commissioner Betty A. Rosa did not immediately return Fox News Digital's request for comment.

The University at Albany told Fox News Digital, "As noted on the program website, the program is not currently accepting applications. When the program application window opens, the website will also be updated to reflect that UAlbany’s CSTEP program relies on race-neutral and ethnicity-neutral eligibility criteria."

President Donald Trump, who is backing challenger Ed Gallrein over incumbent GOP Rep. Thomas Massie in Kentucky's 4th Congressional District Republican primary, highlighted his endorsement again on Tuesday ahead of his planned Wednesday visit to the Bluegrass State.

Trump then followed that up by targeting Massie again in a Wednesday morning Truth Social post.

"I predict that 'Representative'Thomas Massie will go down as the WORST Republican Congressman in the long and fabled history of the United States Congress, even worse than Crazy Liz Chaney, Cryin’ Adam Kinzinger, and Marjorie ‘Traitor’ Brown (Remember, Green turns to Brown under stress!). They are all misfits and losers, but Massie, who is running against a great American Patriot in the Kentucky Primary, will hopefully lose BIG. I LOVE KENTUCKY!!!" the president declared in the Wednesday morning Truth Social post.

In a text message to Fox News Digital, Massie wrote, "It was actually Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger who teamed up with Trump in March of 2020 to try and defeat me."

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In a post on X, Massie wrote, "I predict ‘President’ DJT will begrudgingly sign my beautiful Epstein Files Transparency Act, causing beleaguered princes and ambassadors and prime ministers and CEOs around the world to be arrested or resign in total shame. Oh wait, that already happened."

The president had declared in part of a Truth Social post on Tuesday, "Captain Ed Gallrein has my Complete and Total Endorsement against ‘Congressman’ Thomas Massie — He only votes AGAINST the Republican Party, making life very easy for the Radical Left. Unlike ‘lightweight’ Congressman Massie, a true hater of Israel, and a totally ineffective LOSER who has failed us so badly, CAPTAIN ED GALLREIN IS A WINNER WHO WILL NOT LET KENTUCKY DOWN!" 

"Someone’s upset to learn Woke Eddie left the Republican Party when Trump won the nomination! Here’s today’s Truth Social post. It’s just a copy and paste from several months ago. Says Ed ‘filed today,’ which isn’t even possible since the filing deadline passed in January," Massie wrote in a Tuesday post on X.

Massie on Tuesday posted a document on X that he said was Ed Gallrein's voter registration card — the document shows Gallrein registering as an independent in May 2016. 

"Here’s Ed’s Voter Registration card documenting when he abandoned the GOP to protest Trump securing the nomination just days before," Massie wrote in the post.

In a text message to Fox News Digital on Wednesday morning, Massie said of Trump's Tuesday post, "His Truth Social post was recycled from months ago, but our ad is brand new. We’ll be running the ad in this X post on TV and radio today," Massie wrote, pointing to a post that features a campaign ad attacking Gallrein over his party affiliation history.

Massie's campaign ad claims that Gallrein switched his registration back to the Republican Party in 2021.

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"I was proud to vote for President Trump all three times and donate in 2020 and 2024, unlike Thomas Massie who campaigned against him in 2024 and sides with the Democrats to vote against President Trump every week in Congress," Gallrein said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital.

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Trump is slated to appear at an event in Hebron, Kentucky, on Wednesday.

A Tuesday post on Gallrein's X account said, "President Donald Trump is coming to Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District this Wednesday to support Ed Gallrein for Congress."

When asked about the visit, White House spokeswoman Liz Huston told Fox News Digital, "President Trump will visit the great states of Ohio and Kentucky on Wednesday to tout his economic victories and detail his Administration’s aggressive, ongoing efforts to lower prices and make America more affordable."

In a text message to Fox News Digital on Wednesday morning, Massie wrote, "I have other previously scheduled events in the district today, including a visit to two public schools that are about 3 hours from the President’s speech."

Fox News Digital's Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report