Over the past month, America has seen a steady increase in the number of states where officials are pushing back against the Trump administration’s propaganda-reliant war on DEI. They’re declaring, almost in unison, that President Donald Trump does not have the constitutional authority to impose anti-DEI directives on them under threat of federal defunding, nor does he have logical reason to do so.
On Friday, attorney generals from 19 states filed a lawsuit against the White House, seeking to block its plans to withhold billions in federal funding over diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in K-12 schools.
When a sitting president who already has the lowest 100-day mark approval rating of any president in the better part of a century is being sued by more than a third of the country — maybe he’s just a really bad president.
From Politico:
The lawsuit, led by California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota and New York, argues that an ultimatum delivered by the U.S. Department of Education earlier this month to comply with the Trump administration’s interpretation of federal anti-discrimination law was unconstitutional and unlawful. Under the directive, states are required to certify their schools will adhere to a 2023 Supreme Court ruling that prohibits the use of race in a range of decisions, including admissions, financial aid and other aspects of education.
“Claiming that diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility programs are a form of discrimination is entirely illogical,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said at a news briefing. “It makes no sense and has no substance. It’s a tight soundbite Trump can use to fuel his campaign to dismantle America’s education system and roll back progress across the nation.”
Bonta is exactly right. Nothing about the GOP’s war on DEI has ever been based in reality, which is why it’s never been presented with unambiguous evidence that diversity initiatives were discriminating against anyone or lowering standards in hiring or education. Trump and his minions just kind of keep repeating the lie and trusting that the power of white grievance will shield them from being challenged on it.
In fact, the lawsuit notes that the Trump administration has “repeatedly failed to define the conduct that they seek to punish or prohibit.” It argues that the White House has not been clear on what constitutes “illegal DEI,” and that “this ambiguity pressures Plaintiff States to curtail lawful, congressionally sanctioned and required, initiatives and programs that support diversity, equity, and inclusion, in order to dispel all fear of losing federal funds or becoming a target of enforcement.”
In other words: What the administration is doing is wrong, but also — what the hell is this administration even doing?
Federal judges had already temporarily blocked Trump’s federal funding freeze against non-compliant states, and teacher unions and civil rights groups had already filed lawsuits against the administration over the matter, but Bonta says new lawsuit takes things a step further by challenging the legal basis of a letter sent by the Department of Education in February threatening to pull funding from schools that failed to end all diversity programs.
“We have different claims that we think are very strong claims,” Bonta said. “It could be the winning claims. We have spending clause and separation of powers and appropriations clause claims. Sometimes, you will see different plaintiffs bringing causes of action based on similar action by the federal government.”
Other state leaders like New York Attorney General Letitia James — who consistently draws the president’s ire and who has already beaten Trump in the courtroom — also released statements in support of the lawsuit, which claims Trump’s directives put more than $18.7 billion of federal funding for education at risk.
“We are filing this lawsuit today to protect our schools and our students from yet another one of President Trump’s attacks, and we again, will not be bullied or targeted just because our schools work hard to ensure that every student is accepted and welcome here in the great state of New York,” James said.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison was gracious enough to at least note that he and the president agree that education is a pathway to opportunity.
“But here’s the thing: if somebody believes that only they deserve an opportunity, and you never do, they’ll go out of their way to close every door available to your success,” Ellison said. “And so in my view, that’s why we have to fight off these attacks to diversity, equity and inclusion. It’s not because the programs don’t work. It’s because they do.”
Exactly.
It’s worth mentioning that the DEI-related lawsuit is the second joint suit to be filed against the Trump administration by a dozen or more state attorneys general. Last week, 12 states filed a lawsuit against the White House over Trump’s abysmal tariff agenda.
Again, maybe America simply elected a really bad president for the second time. The first part of solving a problem is admitting we have one.
SEE ALSO: