House Republicans want to defund medical schools over diversity programs

House Democrats are sharply criticizing Republicans for efforts to strip federal funding from medical schools that provide diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and teach white supremacy.

“They should be ashamed of themselves,” Kelly said. “Diversity, equity and inclusion is about everyone, but they don’t look at it that way.”

Earlier this week, Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., a practicing urologist, introduced the “EDUCATE Act,” which goals to strip medical schools that provide DEI programs and scholarships to specific racial groups of federal funds, including student loan programs.

In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, Murphy criticized medical schools for teaching subjects he said were about “intersectionality,” “colonization” and “white supremacy.”

“Introducing DEI programs into medical school curricula is discriminatory and threatens the integrity of the profession,” Murphy wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “We must free our institutions from this harmful initiative.”

According to According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, 5.7% of physicians within the U.S. are black, 6.9% are Latino, 20.9% are Asian, and 63.9% are white.

“We need more doctors of color, and there are reports that show you have a better experience when there is someone who looks like you and understands the realities of your situation,” the Democratic lawmaker said. “They want to take it away. Let them be ashamed.”

“Whether it’s in education, business, medical schools, or in the public or private sector,” Horsford said.

Horsford has already begun to oppose Republican Party efforts to end DEI programs in education. He recently wrote a letter on behalf of CBC to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, asking the nation’s top prosecutor to intervene and protect the rights of individuals of color.

In its letter, the club urged Garland to “initiate an investigation of state universities and college campuses that have received federal funds to ensure that they do not violate civil rights protections under the law.”

“We will not remain silent at this time,” Horsford said. “They go for the tools of opportunity, and we work to defend them.”

Even if the bill were to pass within the House of Representatives, it’s unlikely that the Democrat-majority Senate would support it.

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