'Root out DEI': Why red states are enlisting in Trump's war on 'woke'
When he took office in January, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey issued an executive order eliminatingdiversity, equity and inclusionin state government. Last week, he signed a bill making that order the law in his state. "I pledged to root out DEI," Morrisey said at a ceremonial bill signing. "Now I can report to you that we are following through with that promise and that's a wonderful reason to be here today. DEI is dead in the Mountain State." With PresidentDonald Trumpleading the charge, diversity initiatives have emerged as a new front in the nation's culture wars. Now Republican-led states are joining the fight. While most anti-DEI bills target higher education, 25 states from Louisiana to South Carolina are considering 101 measures that would limit DEI in state and local governments and other publicly funded institutions, according to Bill Kramer, vice president and counsel of state and local government relations firm MultiState. In response, blue states are rolling out bills defending DEI. "I definitely think state lawmakers have been emboldened by the actions on the federal level," said Kramer, whose firm tracks legislation for hundreds of clients. So far this year, nine states have enacted anti-DEI laws and nine more have passed a bill through at least one chamber. Just this week Iowa sentlegislation barring DEIactivities and offices to Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds for her signature. The aim of state legislation mirrors the president's agenda, tothrottle DEIacross the public sector and increase pressure on the private sector. In April, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a Republican, signed a bill banning DEI offices, officers, policies or practices in local government. "Governor Sanders was proud to sign this legislation because government should be focused on serving the people and saving taxpayer dollars, not wasting time and money on woke nonsense," her spokesman Sam Dubke told USA TODAY in a statement. Last week Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, a Republican, signed an "unlawful discrimination" bill prohibiting public institutions from taking actions based on an individual's identity such as race or religion. Braun signed an executive order in January banning DEI initiatives in state government. For years diversity initiatives have comeunder firein red states, either as "DEI" or "critical race theory." In 2022, those terms appeared for the first time in bills introduced in 12 states, according to a USA TODAY analysis of data compiled by bill-tracking firm Plural. Dozens of bills targeting universities and state governments drafted by anti-DEI think tanks and foundations are part of a broaderbacklashagainst theDEI initiativesembraced after George Floyd's 2020 murder to redress historic patterns of discrimination and exclusion in the workplace. Critics likeRussell Vought, andStephen Miller– both now Trump officials – assailed diversity targets and other DEI strategies as anillegal form of discriminationthat prioritizes race and gender over individual merit. Trump seized on the wedge issue during his 2024 presidential campaign, vowing to defeat"anti-White" racism. Just hours after taking the oath of office on Jan. 20, Trump issued executive orders todismantle DEI programs. Wade Miller, senior adviser for the Center for Renewing America, applauded states for lining up to help Trump. "We welcome all bills aimed at dismantling DEI," said Miller, speaking for the conservative think tank Vought founded in January 2021. The momentum of these bills in red states is unlikely to slow, according to Republican pollster Whit Ayres. "The top four reasons people voted for Trump were to bring down inflation, juice the economy, stop illegal immigration and to get away from woke culture," said Ayres, president of North Star Opinion Research. Democrats warn the new wave of anti-DEI legislation could have sweeping implications for local and state government workers and the communities they serve. "The best way to make sure that the government is working for all versus just the few is to have people working in government who understand the experiences of the people they are serving and who have the skills to be excellent in their jobs," said Eliza Leighton, who advocates for DEI as executive director of Deliver the American Dream, part of the American Pride Rises network. "DEI work at the state level is ensuring those things." In Indiana, Senate Democratscondemned a new anti-DEI lawas "a step backward" for diverse communities within the state who face discrimination. "When we introduce legislation that claims that we want everyone to be treated equally, I love that. I have yet to meet a person on this Earth who said we should not treat people equally," said state Sen. Fady Qaddoura, a Democrat. "But what this legislation ignores is that people have different starting points in their lives." Last week, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed into law the "Dismantling DEI Departments Act" banning DEI offices and departments in the Tennessee government. Also on the governor's desk is the "Dismantle DEI Act." If signed, it would bar state and local governments, public colleges, and school systems from considering race, sex or other demographic characteristics in employment decisions. On the House floor last month, Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, a Republican and the senate sponsor of both bills, said Tennessee is aligning itself with the priorities of the Trump administration. House sponsor Rep. Aron Maberry said diversity will "happen naturally through fair hiring practices." DEI isn't about giving unfair advantages because of gender or skin color, but making sure qualified candidates are not denied equal access to opportunities because of their identity, Tennessee Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari responded. "It is unfortunate that diversity, equity and inclusion has become this ugly political tool to divide people," Akbari said on the House floor in April. "What diversity, equity and inclusion principles do is that they make sure that folks who are different but who are equally qualified get a fair shake." Tennessee "deserves a government that reflects the people it serves, not one that turns back the clock on progress," she told USA TODAY. Akbari and Sen. London Lamar, another Democrat who spoke out against the "Dismantle DEI Act" on the House floor, are two of three Black state senators in Tennessee, a state where 17% of the population is Black. "As a Black woman, a state senator, and lifelong advocate for equity, I'm deeply disturbed by the Tennessee Legislature's continued attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion," Lamar told USA TODAY in a statement. "These efforts aren't about fairness or accountability, they're about silencing progress and pushing marginalized voices out of spaces we've fought hard to enter." Voicing his opposition to the "Dismantling DEI Departments Act" in March, Rep.Larry Miller, a Democrat, retired firefighter and the longest-serving member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, spoke in personal terms. "I am the product of DEI. Chances are I would not be sitting here today if I were not. And what your bill is saying (is): 'We want to dismantle and do away with that history. My history, my personal history," Miller said. "DEI helped build this country." In blue states, pro-DEI legislation is also on the rise. Of the 426 DEI bills tracked by American Pride Rises so far in 2025, 221 favor DEI and 205 oppose it. In April, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, vetoed a bill from the Republican-controlled Legislature that would have banned DEI hiring practices in state and local governments. "The state does not mandate any composition of its workforce and already has a merit-focused hiring system in an effort to recruit the best possible talent into the ranks of public service," she wrote in a letter to the state Senate vetoing the bill. This week Hobbsvetoeda second bill that would have wiped out DEI offices and activities in state agencies, colleges and universities and local governments. Is a piece of legislation pro-DEI or anti-DEI? Sometimes it depends on who you ask. A bill in Michigan House of Representatives that would require state agencies to hire employees based on objective factors such as relevant work experience and education was sponsored by pro-DEI Democrats but appeared to have been originally crafted and introduced by Republicans in the previous term. While the term "DEI" does not appear in the bill that promotes merit-based hiring, House Republicans said the legislation would eliminate it. "Merit-based hiring and promotion is simple: You do a good job, and you'll be rewarded. Why any other metric matters is a mystery," GOP Rep. Joseph Pavlovsaid. "There is no place for DEI in our government." According to Benjamin Ries, Pavlov's director of legislation, the Legislative Services Bureau made a clerical error and gave this bill to Rep. Erin Byrnes, a Democrat, who then sponsored it, receiving "overwhelming Democrat cosponsorship." "The representative is hopeful that his Democrat colleagues have seen that DEI doesn't help the people it aims at helping," Ries said. Byrnes told USA TODAY the bill gave her the opportunity to flip the script. Decreasing the influence of personal connections in the hiring process creates a more equal playing field for all workers, she said. Her bill sailed through the Michigan House of Representatives with near unanimous support. "House Republicans in Michigan voted yes on a DEI bill. I love that for them," Byrnes told USA TODAY. "House Democrats know that merit-based hiring and diversity, equity and inclusion practices are not mutually exclusive. That is a false narrative that Republicans have been pushing for years now. Just because Republicans say something doesn't make it fact." Only one representative opposed the bill and he is a Democrat. State Rep. Dylan Wegela also removed his name as a cosponsor of the bill. "I voted against the bill because it's an anti-DEI bill," Wegela told USA TODAY. (This story was updated to add new information.) Contributing: Jayme Fraser This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:'Root out DEI': How Trump's war on 'woke' spread to states
'Root out DEI': Why red states are enlisting in Trump's war on 'woke' When he took office in January, West Virginia Gov....
