Republican Bill Would Block DEI at Federal Agencies, Contractors

Diversity, equity, and inclusion policies would be eliminated from all federal agencies and contracts under sweeping new Republican-sponsored legislation that’s unlikely to pass in a politically-divided Congress.

The proposal, which Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and JD Vance (R-Ohio) introduced Thursday as The Dismantle DEI Act, is the latest volley in conservative policymakers’ and advocates’ wide-ranging war against DEI efforts both in government and corporate America.

The legislation would rescind executive orders, terminate chief diversity officers, bar critical race theory training and mandatory employee DEI pledges, and revoke DEI funding for federal agencies including the Defense Department and the Department of Homeland Security, the sponsors said.

It also would bar awarding federal contracts and grants to businesses or organizations with DEI policies.

“DEI institutionalizes discrimination in hiring,” Cassidy said in a statement announcing the legislation. “Taxpayers expect the most qualified candidates to be hired, not the most favored.”

Opponents of DEI programs have accelerated their efforts over the past year, since the US Supreme Court’s landmark decision striking down affirmative action in higher education. Advocates have filed complaints against a range of corporations, law firms, and scholarship programs, alleging that their efforts to boost their hiring and awards for racial minorities and women amount to illegal discrimination under federal law.

The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit agreed with one such claim June 3, blocking a venture capital firm’s grant program that targeted Black women entrepreneurs. Pfizer Inc. defeated a similar challenge to its diversity fellowship program in March, when the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit found the challengers lacked legal standing to bring their lawsuit.

The sponsors of the new federal legislation—six senators and 16 House members—said the Biden administration has established DEI policies across nearly all federal agencies.