Red states join fight to ‘root out DEI’

Jessica Guynn

USA TODAY

When he took office in January, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey issued an executive order eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion in state government. Recently, 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 on May 7. '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 President Donald Trump leading 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. On May 13, Iowa sent legislation barring DEI activities and offices to Gov. Kim Reynolds for her signature.

The aim of state anti-DEI legislation mirrors the president’s agenda, to throttle DEI across 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.

Recently 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.

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 defend merits of DEI

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.

'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.

In Indiana, Senate Democrats condemned a new anti-DEI law as '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.'

On May 9, 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 Tennessee House floor in April, state Rep. Aron Maberry, a sponsor of both bills, 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.

State Sen. London Lamar, another Democrat who spoke out against the 'Dismantle DEI Act' on the House floor, 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.'

Bill gains support of both sides

Is a piece of legislation pro-DEI or anti-DEI? Sometimes it depends whom 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 Pavlov said.

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 co-sponsorship.'

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.

Contributing: Jayme Fraser, USA TODAY