Courts, Rights and Civil Liberties

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs

25 public statements from 2026 candidates · 6 related bills

§1The range of views

Why this matters: These programs shape hiring, training and student services at many workplaces and campuses, and people disagree about whether they widen opportunity or treat people unequally by race or sex.

Drafted by AI, then checked for neutral wording in a separate AI review. It describes the question and the main positions, not any candidate's view. Facts link to their sources.

Whether federal agencies, federal contractors, public colleges and state governments should run diversity, equity and inclusion programs, which 2025 executive orders ended across federal agencies and some states, such as Texas, have barred at public colleges.1,2,3,4

  1. Ban DEI offices, training and hiring goals in government, public colleges and federal contractors
  2. Allow DEI programs, but bar any that favor people by race or sex
  3. Keep DEI programs, and restore those ended in 2025

These options describe policies, not people. The order is not a ranking.

§2What candidates have said

Why this matters: Statements candidates made publicly, summarized in plain words with a link to where they said it. Candidates who haven't spoken publicly on this issue aren't listed.

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

Ban DEI offices, training and hiring goals in government, public colleges and federal contractors (6)

  • Rhett Marques AL-2
    His campaign website says he would end diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.5
  • Tommy Tuberville AL Governor
    His campaign website says diversity, equity and inclusion programs should have no place in government or schools.6
  • Rick Jackson GA Governor
    His campaign website says he would prohibit DEI programs in state government, public universities and classrooms.7
  • Ed Gallrein KY-4
    His campaign website says he will join the President and the Republican Party to eliminate DEI programs in schools, the military and government and restore merit.8
  • Robert B. Charles ME Governor
    His No Nonsense plan says he would disband every DEI office in state government and return to merit-based hiring.9
  • Tom Tiffany WI Governor
    His campaign website says he would eliminate DEI programs and racial preferences at the University of Wisconsin and end racial preferences in state government.10

Keep DEI programs, and restore those ended in 2025 (3)

  • Dan Koh MA-6
    His campaign website says he will fight back against what it calls conservative attacks on DEI programs and against efforts to make federal funding depend on policies it calls discriminatory.11
  • Winston Jordan NJ-12
    His policy platform website lists protecting DEI initiatives and blocking federal rollbacks of them.12
  • Greg Levy OH Senate special
    His campaign website opposes recent attacks on DEI, including Ohio Senate Bill 1, and calls for expanding affirmative action.13

Statements that don't match one option (16)

  • Ritesh Tandon CA-17
    Earlier policy pages still on his campaign website say college admissions should be based on merit rather than race, support legislation limiting legacy and affirmative-action preferences, and call for federal laws against selection based on diversity, equity and social justice criteria in education, jobs and business contracts.14,15
  • Sam Gallucci CA-26
    His campaign website calls for ending federal funding for DEI and critical race theory programs in education.16
  • Brad Sherman CA-32
    His campaign website says he has voted against proposals to close federal agencies' civil rights and diversity offices.17
  • Mike Cargile CA-35
    His campaign website says he opposes DEI and critical race theory.18
  • Michael Ted Goldstein CT-4
    His campaign platform says he opposes quotas.19
  • Mike Sell FL-4
    His campaign's bill tracker lists him as opposing a Florida law that bars local governments from funding diversity, equity and inclusion programs.20
  • Houston Gaines GA-10
    His campaign website says the military should refocus on what matters and not on DEI in the ranks.21
  • Jeff Wilson IL-13
    His campaign website says he will oppose forced diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.22
  • Julia Letlow LA Senate
    Her campaign website says she would penalize educational institutions that hide DEI programs.23
  • Glenn F. Ivey MD-4
    His campaign website lists DEI initiatives among the things it says the Trump administration is attacking, and says he is taking the fight to the administration.24,25
  • Adrian Boafo MD-5
    His campaign website says he would bring back civil rights protections and equal opportunity programs that it says the Trump administration dismantled, and lists in his track record sponsoring legislation to strengthen workplace discrimination protections in response to attacks on DEI.26
  • Eugene F. Douglass NC-2
    His campaign brochure's education proposal says schools should reject DEI, which it calls divisive.27
  • Lily Tang Williams NH-2
    Her campaign website criticizes diversity, equity and inclusion programs run by governments and corporations and says she will oppose such policies in Congress.28
  • Justin Murphy NJ Senate
    His campaign website says all elements of political correctness and DEI should be removed from the military.29
  • Jermaine Johnson SC Governor
    His campaign website lists stopping an anti-DEI bill among his accomplishments in the state House.30
  • Marsha Blackburn TN Governor
    Her campaign website says Tennessee colleges and universities must follow President Trump's executive orders barring them from using federal money for DEI programs.31

§3Related bills

Why this matters: Bills from 2023–2026 that bear on this issue, with how Congress handled them.