House Task Force Grills ABA Chief Over 2026 Repeal of Law School DEI Rule

1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 21

Wednesday’s hearing will question ABA President Michelle Behnke on whether the group used its accreditation clout to push DEI policies through U.S. law schools.
The scrutiny centers on the ABA council’s unique power: it is the only U.S. Education Department-recognized accreditor for Juris Doctor programs, and most states require graduation from an ABA-approved school to sit for the bar.
Rep. Brandon Gill says that leverage forced discriminatory and often illegal DEI mandates, while the task force says it wants to identify how Congress can permanently eliminate DEI policies from legal education and the profession.
Behnke is expected to argue the accreditation council operates independently from the broader ABA, even though she said on June 1 the association’s commitment to DEI remained "unwavering."
The clash follows a longer rollback: the council began revising Standard 206 in August 2024, suspended it in February 2025, and repealed the diversity rule in May 2026.