Academia’s love affair with DEI may be coming to an abrupt end if Elon Musk’s DOGE has anything to say about it.
The Department of Government Efficiency took a mere 48 hours to completely cut $373 million in funds that would have been spent on DEI initiatives in higher education. For example, one grant reportedly funded training that would help teachers “engage in ongoing learning and self-reflection to confront their own biases and racism, and develop asset-based anti-racist mindsets.” Another would have given UC Berkeley $9.7 million to establish “a cohort of Cambodian youth with enterprise driven skills.”
Just days ago, DOGE terminated $881 million in Department of Education contracts that contained an estimated $100 million assigned to DEI-related grants.
The DOE has, for its part, made great strides to end DEI in education since President Donald Trump took office in January. It has ordered every one of the 50 states to reverse any DEI policies in place at the risk of losing federal funding.
“The law is clear: treating students differently on the basis of race to achieve nebulous goals such as diversity, racial balancing, social justice, or equity is illegal under controlling Supreme Court precedent,” reads a letter from the department.
X users celebrated the money saved thanks to Musk’s team:
DOGE is making a huge difference! America really is going to be great again!
— aka (@akafaceUS) February 17, 2025
Yes! This is the way!
— BruceX (@realBruceBallou) February 17, 2025
This is what I voted for! Keep slashing @DOGE
— Rochellemaryn ️ (@RochelleAz) February 17, 2025
Daily results.
Nothing in government has been this good.— 2VNews (@2VNews) February 17, 2025
When I see that list of places our money goes, all I can think about it the amount of fraud and abuse of the taxpayer money there is left to be uncovered.
— Isaac (@IcedViews) February 17, 2025
Must go further. The entire apparatus must be yanked out branch and root if we’re going to survive as a nation. This all needs to be undone not just ended. https://t.co/BCoS1inZHp
— Cooking With Sal Minella (@RealSalMinella) February 17, 2025
