Democrats fight to keep DEI alive at Virginia colleges
The lawsuit claims the legislature must approve the appointments and that it rejected them earlier this month.
The governor argued that the entire legislative branch must vote, and that it has not done so in this matter.
Nine Virginia Senate Democrats filed a lawsuit on June 24 to remove Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s appointments to various state college boards.
Youngkin has pushed to eliminate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives at public universities—which he made over the course of March and April to the University of Virginia, George Mason University and Virginia Military Institute.
According to The Washington Post, the senators said that when they voted on June 9 to reject Youngkin’s appointments to three college boards in a committee meeting, the members should have left their positions immediately.
Youngkin argued that the General Assembly—Virginia’s legislative body—has to vote before the members must leave.
The Democratic senators filed a lawsuit in Fairfax County Circuit Court.
[RELATED: UL Lafayette axes Office of Campus Inclusion in response to ‘federal directive’]
The complaint aims to “enforce the constitutional prerogatives of the Virginia General Assembly.”
“Plaintiffs have no choice but to bring this action to protect and vindicate the Virginia Senate’s constitutional and statutory authority, as well as to protect their own votes from gubernatorial nullification,” the lawsuit states.
Youngkin labeled the lawsuit as a “meritless” attempt to maintain DEI initiatives at state universities.
“We have been working to combat illegal discrimination at our universities and our schools. And Democrats clearly want to work to promote that discrimination,” the governor said, reporting by The Washington Post asserts.
Senate Majority Leader and Democrat Scott Surovell said he supports the lawsuit.
“I’m proud to stand with @SenLouiseLucas to defend the rule of law in Virginia,” Surovell said in a June 24 X post. “If Donald Trump and his allies want to burn it down at the federal level, we’ll make sure it still stands strong here in the Commonwealth.”
I’m proud to stand with @SenLouiseLucas to defend the rule of law in Virginia. If Donald Trump and his allies want to burn it down at the federal level, we’ll make sure it still stands strong here in the Commonwealthhttps://t.co/u32WWxOOI8#VALeg #RuleOfLaw #DemocracyMatters
— Senator Scott Surovell - ssurovell.bsky.social (@ssurovell) June 24, 2025
[RELATED: Virginia Tech votes to dismantle DEI office amid legal compliance concerns]
Many public Virginia universities have dismantled DEI offices following President Trump’s Jan. 21 anti-DEI executive order, including two of the universities involved in the current controversy.
George Mason University recently closed the Center for Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation. The University of Virginia (UVA) eliminated the Division of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Community Partnerships in March.
Following the UVA board vote to remove the division, Gov. Youngkin celebrated the decision in a March 7 press release.
“The Board of Visitors voted for common sense, saying ‘no’ to illegal discrimination and ‘yes’ to merit-based opportunity,” the governor said. “DEI is done at the University of Virginia. We stand for the universal truth that everyone is created equal, and opportunity is at the heart of Virginians’ and Americans’ future.”
Campus Reform contacted Gov. Youngkin’s office for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
