Democratic Gov. Beshear vetoes GOP bill aimed at dismantling DEI efforts in public universities

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear vetoed a GOP-backed bill Thursday to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at public universities, declaring that diversity should be embraced as a strength while branding the legislation as being “about hate.”

Beshear, who is seen as a potential presidential candidate in 2028, announced his veto in a social media video. His defense of diversity initiatives comes as Republican President Donald Trump seeks to end government support for programs promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.

“I believe in the Golden Rule that says we love our neighbor as ourself, and there are no exceptions, no asterisks,” Beshear said. "We love and we accept everyone. This bill isn’t about love. House Bill 4 is about hate. So I’m gonna try a little act of love myself and I’m gonna to veto it right now.”

The anti-DEI legislation cleared both legislative chambers by lopsided margins. Kentucky's Republican-supermajority legislature will have a chance to override Beshear's veto when lawmakers reconvene in late March for the final two days of this year's 30-day session. Throughout Beshear's tenure as governor, GOP lawmakers have, with gusto, routinely swept aside his vetoes to push their policies into law.

The bill originated in the Kentucky House, and a spokeswoman for House Republicans didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Beshear's veto.

The measure rejected by Beshear would require Kentucky's public universities and community and technical colleges to defund DEI initiatives. It also would require the schools to eliminate DEI offices and prohibit them from requiring students or staff to attend DEI training sessions.

“I’ll always believe that diversity is a strength and never a weakness,” Beshear said. “That we are better with more voices and more seats at our table.”

More than 50 universities are being investigated for alleged racial discrimination as part of Trump’s campaign to end DEI programs, which his officials say exclude white and Asian American students.

The U.S. Education Department recently announced the new investigations, coming one month after issuing a memo warning America’s schools and colleges that they could lose federal money over “race-based preferences” in admissions, scholarships or any aspect of student life.

Trump plans to sign an executive order Thursday calling for the dismantling of the U.S. Education Department, advancing a campaign promise to eliminate an agency that’s been a longtime target of conservatives who criticize it as wasteful and polluted by liberal ideology. However, completing its dismantling is most likely impossible without an act of Congress, which created the department in 1979.