Texas Democrats put DEI back on agenda after sweeping to power

Texas Democrats are opening their incoming state House majority with a push to clear the way for DEI offices and programs to return to public universities across the state — a move state Republicans are expected to block but that puts the culture-war issue front and center after massive Democratic Party gains in the state.

HB 358 and SB 125 would repeal a 2023 law banning diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices and programs at public universities, but the bills face steep odds with Republicans still retaining control of the Texas Senate. Still, the effort signals Democrats’ broader intent to roll back one of the GOP’s signature education policies after campaigning heavily on the war in Iran, immigration, and affordability.

Even if the repeal effort fails, conservative policy experts in Texas warn that Democratic appointments to university governing boards could weaken enforcement of the state's DEI restrictions without changing the law.

"With Republicans in firm control of the Texas state senate, it’s highly unlikely that any bill seeking to bring back the corrosive and wasteful higher ed DEI regime will make it to the Governor’s desk," Chuck DeVore, chief national initiatives officer for the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), told Fox News Digital. "What will likely happen is that relabeled and disguised DEI programs and classes will make a comeback over the next four years as the Governor’s board of regents appointees gradually get a majority. We look forward to suing to ensure adherence to Texas law."

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The 2023 anti-DEI law, signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott , barred public universities from maintaining DEI offices or assigning employees or contractors to perform their duties. It also prohibited compelling or soliciting DEI statements from faculty or students, restricted certain preferences based on race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin, and banned mandatory DEI training for students and employees. The law includes exceptions for academic instruction, scholarly research and registered student organizations.

After the law took effect Jan. 1, 2024, UT Austin closed its Multicultural Engagement Center and discontinued its Monarch program, which provided advising, mental-health support and scholarships to illegal immigrants and other noncitizen students. The University of Houston System stopped requiring DEI statements in hiring and promotions, while UT Health San Antonio ended a faculty loan-repayment program for professors from "underrepresented backgrounds,".

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At a May 2024 Texas Senate higher education subcommittee hearing, UT System Chancellor J.B. Milliken told lawmakers the system had closed 21 DEI offices, eliminated 311 full- and part-time positions focused on DEI, and canceled 681 contracts, programs and training sessions. Critics have nevertheless accused some universities of preserving DEI initiatives under different names or organizational structures.

Texas A&M University drew scrutiny after dissolving its Office for Diversity but transferring six of its eight employees to other campus positions. Former Vice President for Diversity Annie McGowan received a 10% raise, a new position and nine months of paid leave. Critics accused the university of preserving DEI operations under different titles. Texas A&M maintained that the office and its DEI-related duties had been eliminated and that the raises were unrelated to DEI.

Kate Bierly, a higher education campaign director at TPPF, told Fox News Digital that Democrats could undermine Texas' 2023 anti-DEI law without repealing it. She warned that newly appointed university regents could weaken enforcement through administrative inaction, potentially allowing prohibited practices to resume.

She observed that numerous university regents' terms expire Feb. 1, 2027, giving Democratic Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa an opportunity to nominate replacements who could influence how universities enforce the DEI ban.

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But Hinojosa would face another obstacle: Republican control of the Texas Senate, which must confirm university regent appointments. Bierly said the Texas Constitution allows certain unpaid gubernatorial appointees, including regents, to remain in office after their terms expire. Because the 90th Legislature convenes in January 2027, before the regents' terms expire, she said incumbents could remain in place until the end of the 91st Legislature's regular session in 2029 if their successors are not confirmed.

"If the Senate declines to confirm nominees who would undermine the state's DEI reforms, existing regents can continue serving rather than automatically surrendering their seats when their terms expire," Bierly said. "This holdover period ends on the last day of the first regular legislative session that begins after the term expires. So as a result, the current regents can hold over to 2029 if no successor has qualified by then. After that, the office becomes vacated."

DeVore said the holdover provision could become a political liability for Senate Republicans, giving Democrats "an actual useful campaign cudgel" if the chamber refuses to confirm Hinojosa's nominees. Democrats could accuse Republicans of obstructing the governor's appointments to university governing boards, he said.

That pressure could force a compromise at some point, DeVore added, but also warned that DEI is "a death issue for a Republican primary" and that any Republican who supports a compromise could be "toast in the primary."

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Texas' restrictions reflect a broader national effort to dismantle DEI programs in government and higher education.

The Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling against race-based admissions preferences at universities preceded a broader federal crackdown on DEI. After returning to office in 2025, President Donald Trump moved to dismantle DEI programs across the federal government and directed federally funded schools to end race-based preferences in admissions, hiring, scholarships and other programs.

Republican-led states have pursued similar restrictions at public universities, making Texas’ fight part of a broader national backlash against institutional DEI.

Texas' political landscape has shifted dramatically following Republican election losses. Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton are leaving office, while Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, lost his Republican Senate primary to Paxton.

Democrats won the governorship, attorney general's office and a U.S. Senate seat while reclaiming the state House for the first time in more than two decades. Republicans retained control of the state Senate, giving them a potential veto over both the DEI repeal legislation and Hinojosa's university regent nominees.

"Ultimately, Texas lawmakers must decide whether they want the DEI ban to be more than a law on paper," Bierly said. "Protecting the reforms requires attention not only to legislation, but also to the university leadership responsible for implementing it."

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Fox News Digital sought comment from the repeal bills' sponsors, Democratic state Rep. John Bucy and Democratic state Sen. José Menéndez, as well as former Republican state Sen. Brandon Creighton, who authored the 2023 anti-DEI law and now serves as chancellor of the Texas Tech University System. None responded before publication. The University of Texas System, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and Texas Students for DEI also did not respond to requests for comment.