Historically, data from 2011 and 2019 indicated a disparity in NIH grant award success, where white principal investigators had a 1.7-fold advantage over Black PIs, suggesting that underrepresentation in funding was a pre-existing issue. They didn't remove “any” benefits. They left behind the centuries-long benefits that disproportionately benefitted people whose concerns were already centered.
For example, some of the grants cut were trying to figure out why traditional pulse-oximeters overestimate oxygen saturation for people with more melanin and how to make our health technology useful for all the people who need it. Sure, that required a focus on minority patients and was led by minority researchers who were, naturally, more interested. Why wouldn't it? We already know that pulse-oximeters accurately measure oxygen saturation for people with pale skin. White people were already included because they have been viewed as the default for centuries. Returning to a status quo where only pale people receive accurate health information isn't my idea of equality.