A House task force is set to question the American Bar Association (ABA) on Wednesday regarding its influence over law school accreditation and the implementation of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, chairman of the House Oversight Committee’s Task Force on Defending Constitutional Rights and Exposing Constitutional Abuses, scheduled the hearing to scrutinize ABA President Michelle A. Behnke.
Gill stated that DEI is a "cancerous ideology that promotes unlawful discrimination and steals opportunities from Americans who would otherwise earn jobs and law school admissions spots on merit." He further asserted that the ABA has "abused its accreditation power to force harmfully racist and often illegal DEI policies and coursework in law schools across the nation," leading to "poorly trained lawyers who prioritize political activism over following the law."
The task force aims to explore how Congress can work to eliminate DEI policies within American institutions, including the legal profession and academia. The ABA's accreditation system, particularly its Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, holds significant sway. This council is the sole accreditor of Juris Doctor programs recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, and graduation from an ABA-approved law school is a prerequisite for taking the bar exam in most states.
Behnke is expected to argue that the accreditation council operates independently from the broader ABA. In a June 1 statement, she emphasized the ABA's "unwavering" commitment to DEI, asserting that "The legal profession is strongest when it draws on the experiences, talents and perspectives of people from every background and every community." She added, "Diversity does not weaken our profession. It deepens it. It broadens understanding, strengthens public trust and helps ensure the law serves all people fairly and fully."
In November 2024, the ABA accreditation council began considering revisions to Standard 206 of its accreditation rules. A revision in November 2024 called for removing sections that required law schools to "demonstrate by concrete action a commitment to diversity and inclusion by having a faculty and staff that are diverse with respect to gender, race, and ethnicity." By August 2024, the council was revising Standard 206 to remove language expressly permitting the consideration of race and ethnicity in admissions, clarifying that law schools were not mandated to consider race or other identity characteristics in individual admissions decisions.
In May 2026, the ABA's accreditation council voted to repeal Standard 206, which had been suspended since February 2025. Despite these revisions, Behnke's continued affirmation of the ABA's commitment to DEI is likely to be a focal point of the hearing.