WASHINGTON, DC – After the Trump administration threatened to withhold federal funds from K-12 schools over any diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and policies that a school may have, Democratic AGs were quick to sue the administration, asserting this move was illegal and the administration had distorted existing federal civil rights law to scare schools into submission.

Over the weekend, Democratic AGs took to TV to talk about the legality of DEI, as well as the lack of authority Trump has in preventing funds from flowing to public schools.

Delaware AG Kathy Jennings on MSNBC’s Alex Witt Reports:

• “[This] is an attempt to destroy a big part of civil rights in our country. There is nothing wrong with DEI, in fact, quite the opposite…Diversity, equity, and inclusion is legal in our country, and it should be supported. And it is supported by many institutions as well as by businesses.”
• “But Trump is trying to eradicate those civil rights completely, and he’s doing it with the power of the purse. It’s unlawful. It’s illegal. He is not allowed to do this. And courts have already ruled that he is not allowed to do this.” 

Michigan AG Dana Nessel on MSNBC’s The Weekend:

• “These are not the kinds of words or language that we normally see written in a legal document. And there’s no way, even if one wanted to comply, even if it was legal and it did not violate state law and federal law to comply, there’s really no way to know if you’re in compliance or not.”
• “It’s just this long-time effort, I guess, to poison people against, honestly, just learning the truth.”
• “Whether it’s recipients of all kinds of different grants at colleges, just scared out of their mind and they don’t know what to do because they don’t know what the punishment is gonna be.”
• “And that’s why I think it’s so important that as state AGs that we are fighting back, not just on behalf of the states that we represent, but on behalf of the people who live in the states that we represent, so that they know these are illegal orders. The courts have in large part agreed with.”

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