House bill seeks to eliminate DEI programs in Louisiana
House Bill 421, from State Rep. Emily Chenevert, abolishes all DEI programs, offices, positions, and employee performance requirements.
The bill would also require state agency heads to submit a written report to the Commissioner of Administration at the end of the year outlining what actions they've taken to comply with the proposed law.
In turn, the Commissioner of Administration will have until February 2026 to submit a report to lawmakers detailing what's been discovered and provide any recommendations regarding DEI.
Louisiana bill proposes penalties for officials hindering immigration enforcement
The House Governmental Affairs Committee is scheduled to meet on Thursday at 9:30 a.m.
Latest News
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Louisiana First News.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
8 hours ago
- The Hill
Axelrod knocks ‘Stalinist' Trump Smithsonian directive
Former Obama aide David Axelrod compared President Trump's new review of content at Smithsonian museums Tuesday to former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin's efforts to 'rewrite history.' 'This has just kind of a Soviet feel to it, a Stalinist feel to it,' Axelrod, now a CNN commentator, said on the network. 'You know, you take over cultural institutions and historical institutions and you try and rewrite history.' The White House sent a letter to Smithsonian Institution head Lonnie Bunch on Tuesday ordering a review of content across eight museums and ultimately replace exhibits deemed 'divisive or ideologically driven' with 'unifying, historically accurate' content that aligns with the president's 'American exceptionalism' directive marking the nation's 250th birthday. Axelrod said it's concerning because he doesn't trust that Trump will preserve accurate history. 'This is a president who is rewriting history every day, and he believes that you can do that,' he said. 'The irony is that in this instance, this is all around the 250th anniversary of our Founding Fathers declaring themselves free of a mad king, and you wonder what they would think coming back today and watching this.' Stalin was known to have redirected historical accounts of the Soviet Union to reshape how Russians viewed the past. Trump signed an executive order earlier this year aimed at stamping out diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts in government. The DEI purge drew backlash after the Pentagon removed notable historical items and mentions that were flagged as divisive. 'They removed Jackie Robinson from the Pentagon archives,' Axelrod said. He contrasted Trump's positive spin on history with how Germany recognizes the atrocities of the Holocaust. 'They don't run from it, it is taught because they don't want history to repeat itself,' he said.
Fox News
14 hours ago
- Fox News
New report accuses bureaucrats of running ‘shadow government' pushing DEI, gender ideology in red states
A new report warns that red states are quietly adopting liberal policies — including DEI mandates, ESG investing, and gender ideology — even under Republican leadership, due to deep-rooted influence from national bureaucratic organizations. The State Leadership Initiative (SLI), a group focused on state-level policy reform, argues in its "Shadow Government" report that unelected national associations are embedding progressive ideologies into state bureaucracies across the country, regardless of who voters elect. "Conservative leaders are fond of declaring victory," the report reads. "They win elections, pass legislation, and appoint agency heads with great fanfare, yet, on issue after issue, the administrative state trudges forward in open defiance of their mandate: enforcing equity initiatives, embedding climate policy, and advancing bureaucratic priorities wholly alien to the voters who ostensibly elected the government. This disconnect is not incidental. It is structural." The report claims that dozens of well-funded national associations — often branded as nonpartisan or professional groups — are responsible for this "shadow governance." These organizations set policy frameworks, distribute federal funding and provide "best practices" guidance that often aligns with left-wing values. Groups named in the report include the National Association of State Treasurers (NAST), National Association of Medicaid Directors (NAMD) and the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE). "Every single one of these associations pushes DEI," SLI founder and president Noah Wall told Fox News Digital. "It doesn't matter how specific—whether it's a fish and wildlife group or a treasury department—DEI is a core part of their programming." Wall said SLI examined 23 of the largest associations for the report and found widespread adoption of progressive agendas, including diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles and gender ideology initiatives. The report characterizes the influence of these organizations as a form of "shadow governance," where state bureaucrats adopt ideological frameworks from national partners without input from lawmakers or voters. "The ideological left does not need to win a single statehouse so long as it controls the bureaucratic bloodstream," the report claims. The State Leadership Initiative warns that this arrangement allows DEI programming to persist in state transportation departments, ESG investing standards to dictate financial strategy and gender ideology to shape school curricula — even in states where voters oppose these ideas. State treasurers may object to ESG investment criteria, but find that national rankings and training frameworks still push those standards. A superintendent may oppose gender-affirming school policies, but still face accreditation pressure from a national group that insists on "inclusive pedagogy." In short, the report argues that these associations have created a parallel system of governance — one that functions independently of voter oversight and continues to advance a progressive agenda even under conservative administrations. In one example, the report alleges that the NAMD pushed equity — not outcomes — as a top priority of Medicaid reform. In the NAMD 2021 Regulatory Priorities document, the group lists 11 "broad issues" that Medicaid directors could focus on to improve state Medicaid programs. The first priority listed was "advancing equity in Medicaid" and it stated, "Equity work should include a focus on racial and ethnic minorities, rural populations, Tribal populations, and any other groups experiencing disparate health outcomes, with an understanding that inequities are multidimensional and often fall across multiple population characteristics or categories. We also see discrete areas where focus would be beneficial, bearing in mind that the work to advance equity in Medicaid is holistic and branches across all issue domains." The National Association of Medicaid Directors did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Another example was NAST having a standing DEI committee and alleging that the group was embedding DEI into hiring and treasury operations. In 2022, the chair of the DEI committee shared a message with other members of NAST highlighting the DEI work in her state and how she and others on the committee were working to share best practices on how to incorporate DEI policies in their state. "Our goal is to gather resources to support our fellow treasurers. We plan to send out a survey to gather information on DE&I initiatives in the different states, similar to the successful approach we used with Financial Education several years ago. The results from this survey will be shared with everyone and could provide a basis for us to host future panels and webinars to support each other's strategies," Deborah B. Goldberg, who was the Massachusetts State Treasurer, wrote. She also shared how her state prioritized hiring a diverse workforce and how it benefited the treasury workforce. "By starting with a diverse transition team and utilizing more extensive outreach we found that an exceptional talent pool began applying for positions in our various offices. And over the years, we have seen how diversity benefits and enriches our entire Treasury workforce," she wrote. "We truly pride ourselves in promoting DE&I within our office. Even though we are the most diverse office in the Massachusetts state government, we do not rest on our laurels. Our Treasury team began hosting monthly DE&I educational events in February of 2019, created a formal DE&I policy in December of 2020, and implemented a DE&I Strategic plan in August of 2021. We have developed a DE&I Working Group and DE&I Champions who meet regularly to brainstorm new ways to pursue DE&I in our offices and update one another on the accomplishment of department specific goals." When reached for comment, NAST said the DEI committee in 2022 was an ad hoc committee and those committees expire at the end of the year, and they currently do not have a DEI committee. They also noted to Fox News Digital that Goldberg's DEI work was within her own office and not NAST. The report also accused NASBE of pushing gender-inclusive curricula, pronoun policies and resisting restrictions on transgender sports participation — even in red states. In a 2020 report titled, "Removing Barriers to LGBTQ Student Safety and Achievement," NASBE shared the need for states to issue guidance on the needs of transgender students. The report suggested that states address the "discriminatory school policies limiting their access to facilities" for transgender students and maintaining school records that reflect the gender identity and pronouns of students. The guidance, according to the report, was in response to "the proliferation of potentially harmful legislation at the state level." The National Association of State Boards of Education declined to comment. Wall argued that Republican governors and lawmakers have underestimated the scale of the problem. "They're not just sharing best practices," Wall said. "They're setting the internal culture of state agencies and implementing federal priorities under the radar. Even conservative states are running progressive policies out of habit." To address what it calls "shadow governance," the State Leadership Initiative outlines a series of recommendations aimed at helping conservative governors and lawmakers reclaim authority over state agencies. First, the report urges a full audit of every national association to which state agencies belong. This includes reviewing how much taxpayer money is spent on dues, how much influence these groups have over policy, and whether their agendas align with state law. It encourages states to withdraw from associations that are in direct conflict with their legislative priorities and to require legislative approval before renewing any membership. The report also calls for an end to the automatic adoption of "model policies" and "best practices" by national associations. Instead, SLI recommends executive orders that prevent agencies from implementing these guidelines without in-state review and oversight from elected officials. It also calls on states to prohibit public funds from being used to support DEI training or performance metrics, which the group describes as ideological Trojan horses. "We think that Republican governors in particular need to make sure that they're sending people to these associations, knowing the problems that these associations have had in the past," Wall said. "And I don't think they have. So our goal is to educate Republican governors about the scale of the problem and make sure that they condition future membership on reforms."
Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Los Angeles Times
Trial in National Guard lawsuit tests whether Trump will let courts limit authority
Minutes after Sec. of Defense Pete Hegseth trumpeted plans to 'flood' Washington with National Guard troops, a senior U.S. military official took the stand in federal court in California to defend the controversial deployment of soldiers to Los Angeles. The move during protests earlier this summer has since become the model for President Trump's increasing use of soldiers to police American streets. But the trial, which opened Monday in San Francisco, turns on the argument by California that Trump's troops have been illegally engaged in civilian law enforcement. 'The military in Southern California are so tied in with ICE and other law enforcement agencies that they are practically indistinguishable,' California Deputy Atty. Gen. Meghan Strong told the court Tuesday. 'Los Angeles is just the beginning,' the attorney went on. 'President Trump has hinted at sending troops even farther, naming Baltimore and even Oakland here in the Bay Area as his next potential targets.' Senior U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer said in court that Hegseth's statements Monday could tip the scales in favor of the state, which must show the law is likely to be violated again so long as troops remain. But the White House hasn't let the pending case stall its agenda. Nor have Trump officials been phased by a judge's order restricting so-called 'roving patrols' used by federal agents to indiscriminately sweep up suspected immigrants. After Border Patrol agents last week sprang from a Penske moving truck and snatched up workers at a Westlake Home Depot — appearing to openly defy the court's order — some attorneys warned the rule of law is crumbling in plain sight. 'It is just breathtaking,' said Mark Rosenbaum of Public Counsel, part of the coalition challenging the use of racial profiling by immigration enforcement. 'Somewhere there are Founding Fathers who are turning over in their graves.' The chaotic immigration arrests that swept through Los Angeles this summer had all but ceased following the original July 11 order, which bars agents from snatching people off the streets without first establishing reasonable suspicion that they are in the U.S. illegally. An Aug. 1 ruling in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals seemed to assure they could not resume again for weeks, if ever. For the punch-drunk Department of Justice, the 9th Circuit loss was the latest blow in a protracted judicial beatdown, as many of the administration's most aggressive moves have been held back by federal judges and tied up in appellate courts. '[Trump] is losing consistently in the lower courts, almost 9 times out of 10,' said Eric J. Segall, a professor at Georgia State University College of Law. In the last two weeks alone, the 9th Circuit also found Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship unconstitutional and signaled it would likely rule in favor of a group of University of California researchers hoping to claw back funding from Trump's war on so-called DEI policies. Elsewhere in the U.S., the D.C. Circuit court appeared poised to block Trump's tariffs, while a federal judge in Miami temporarily stopped construction at Alligator Alcatraz. California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta has crowed that his Department of Justice had sued the administration nearly 40 times. But even the breakneck pace of current litigation is glacial compared with the actions of immigration agents and federalized troops. Federal officials have publicly relished big-footing Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who have repeatedly warned the city is being used as a 'petri dish' for executive force. On Monday, the White House seemed to vindicate them by sending the National Guard to Washington. Speaking for more than half an hour, President Trump rattled off a list of American cities he characterized as under siege. When asked if he would deploy troops to those cities as well, the president said, 'We're just gonna see what happens.' 'We're going to look at New York. And if we need to, we're going to do the same thing in Chicago,' he said. 'Hopefully, L.A. is watching.' The Department of Justice argues that the same power that allows the president to federalize troops and deploy them on American streets also creates a 'Constitutional exception' to the Posse Comitatus Act, a 19th century law that bars the soldiers from civilian police action. California lawyers say no such exception exists. 'I'm looking at this case and trying to figure out, is there any limitation to the use of federal forces?' Judge Breyer said. Even if they keep taking losses, Trump administration officials 'don't have much to lose' by picking fights, said Ilya Somin, law professor at George Mason University and a Constitutional scholar at the Cato Institute. 'The base likes it,' Somin said of the Trump's most controversial moves. 'If they lose, they can consider whether they defy the court.' Other experts agreed. 'The bigger question is whether the courts can actually do anything to enforce the orders that they're making,' said David J. Bier of the Cato Institute. 'There's no indication to me that [Department of Homeland Security agents] are changing their behavior.' Some scholars speculated the lower court bloodbath might actually be a strategic sacrifice in the war to extend presidential power in the Supreme Court. 'It's not a strategy whose primary ambition is to win,' said Professor Mark Graber of the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. 'They are losing cases right and left in the district court, but consistently having district court orders stayed in the Supreme Court.' Win or lose in the lower courts, the political allure of targeting California is potent, argued Segall, the law professor who studies the Supreme Court. 'There is an emotional hostility to California that people on the West Coast don't understand,' Segall said. ' deemed a separate country almost.' An favorable ruling in the Supreme Court could pave the way for deployments across the country, he and others warned. 'We don't want the military on America's streets, period full stop,' Segall said. 'I don't think martial law is off the table.' Pedro Vásquez Perdomo, a day laborer who is one of the plaintiffs on the Southern California case challenging racial profiling by immigration enforcement, has said the case is bigger than him. He squared up to the podium outside the American Civil Liberties Union's downtown offices Aug. 4, his voice trembling as he spoke about the temporary restraining order — upheld days earlier by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals — that stood between his fellow Angelenos and unchecked federal authority. 'I don't want silence to be my story,' the day-laborer said. 'I want justice for me and for every other person who's humanity has been denied.'
