Georgetown Law dean rejects US attorney's demand to end DEI programs

Georgetown University Law Center's Dean, William Treanor, has firmly rejected a directive from interim US Attorney for the District of Columbia, Ed Martin, to discontinue the school's DEI initiatives. Martin's letter warned that his office would cease hiring Georgetown Law students unless the institution eliminated its DEI programs, according to AP.

In his response letter obtained by the Horizon, Dean Treanor wrote, "Given the First Amendment's protection of a university's freedom to determine its own curriculum and how to deliver it, the constitutional violation behind this threat is clear, as is the attack on the University's mission as a Jesuit and Catholic institution."

Martin, a conservative activist appointed by President Donald Trump, has previously aligned his actions with the administration's agenda, including efforts to dismantle DEI practices that gained prominence after the 2020 murder of George Floyd. His recent letter to Georgetown Law is part of a broader campaign against DEI programs in educational institutions.

Legal experts have criticized Martin's stance, arguing that it infringes upon the First Amendment. Adam Steinbaugh, a First Amendment lawyer at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), commented, "Federal prosecutors don't control the classroom. This is a dark abdication of the First Amendment."