Congress to put American Bar Association in hot seat over DEI rules tied to law school accreditation

Congress is calling a proceeding to analyse whether the American Bar Association (ABA) has utilized its ascendant relation successful instrumentality schoolhouse accreditation to propulsion diversity, equity and inclusion policies passim the ineligible profession.

Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, president of the House Oversight Committee’s Task Force connected Defending Constitutional Rights and Exposing Constitutional Abuses, scheduled Wednesday’s proceeding to question ABA President Michelle A. Behnke astir the organization’s power implicit instrumentality schoolhouse accreditation.

"DEI is simply a cancerous ideology that promotes unlawful favoritism and steals opportunities from Americans who would different gain jobs and instrumentality schoolhouse admissions spots connected merit," Gill said successful a statement. "The ABA has abused its accreditation powerfulness to unit harmfully racist and often amerciable DEI policies and coursework successful instrumentality schools crossed the nation."

Gill added that the ABA's "promotion of DEI has created poorly trained lawyers who prioritize governmental activism implicit pursuing the law."

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Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, speaks to members of the media portion arriving for a House Republican Conference caucus gathering astatine the U.S. Capitol successful Washington, D.C., connected June 3, 2026.  (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The task unit has laid retired the extremity of exploring "how Congress tin assistance permanently destruct DEI policies wrong American institutions, including the ineligible assemblage and academy."

The ABA’s accreditation strategy gives it sizeable power implicit ineligible education. Its Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar is the lone accreditor of Juris Doctor programs recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, and graduation from an ABA-approved instrumentality schoolhouse is the modular way to taking the barroom exam successful astir states.

In the hearing, Behnke is expected to reason that the assembly operates independently of the broader ABA, a favoritism she made wide successful a June 1 statement.

Despite the council's determination successful May to repeal definite diverseness and inclusion standards for instrumentality schools, Behnke said the ABA inactive has an "unwavering" committedness to DEI, comments that Gill and different committee members are apt to scrutinize.

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American Bar Association President Michelle A. Behnke is acceptable to attest successful beforehand of the House's Task Force connected Defending Constitutional Rights and Exposing Constitutional Abuses connected Wednesday. (Business Wire via AP)

"The ineligible assemblage is strongest erstwhile it draws connected the experiences, talents and perspectives of radical from each inheritance and each community," Behnke said past month. "Diversity does not weaken our profession. It deepens it. It broadens understanding, strengthens nationalist spot and helps guarantee the instrumentality serves each radical reasonably and fully."

President Donald Trump has enactment unit connected instrumentality firms and different American companies to extremity DEI practices.

However, adjacent earlier Trump returned to the White House past January, the ABA accreditation assembly was already considering revising Standard 206 of the ABA Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools. A November 2024 revision called for removing sections including a request for instrumentality schools to "demonstrate by factual enactment a committedness to diverseness and inclusion by having a module and unit that are divers with respect to gender, race, and ethnicity."

President Donald Trump looks connected earlier presenting the FIFA World Cup Winner's Trophy to Spain aft the Final FIFA World Cup 2026 lucifer betwixt Spain and Argentina astatine New York New Jersey Stadium connected July 19, 2026 successful East Rutherford, New Jersey.  (Pablo Morano/BSR Agency/Getty Images)

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In August 2024, the assembly began revising Standard 206 to region connection expressly permitting the information of contention and ethnicity successful admissions. 

The revisions besides clarified that instrumentality schools were not required to see contention oregon different individuality characteristics successful idiosyncratic admissions decisions.

In May 2026, the ABA’s accreditation assembly voted to repeal Standard 206, which had already been suspended since February 2025.