Forget Affordability. DEI Is Back With Democrats’ Power Trip

So, I thought this election was about “affordability.” That’s what the big spending left kept telling us. Turns out, not so much. The first order of business for the triumphant Democratic Party is getting rid of “moderates” like Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., radical progressives who aren’t nearly radical enough. They have, after all, supported the continued existence of Israel and Jews. So, what’s next? Policies to bring down the price of gas and diesel? No. A new Green New Deal without the baggage of the name. Plans to make housing more affordable? No. Failed rent control policies that will disincentivize housing construction, further burdening supply, and jacking up prices. Affordability will also have to take a backseat to revenge. Flush with power, Democrats are preparing for never-ending investigations and impeachments. The subject has filled their dreams since Nov. 5, 2024. How will impeaching President Donald Trump and members of his administration save you money? It won’t. But it will sate the blood lust of the unhinged left. And for leftists about to take control of congress and statehouses across the country, one of the largest rallying cries will be DEI. ‘DEI is Back’ As Rep. Ro Khanna cringingly announced right after the big blue wave struck, DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) is top of mind for the identity politics party. “Tonight, DEI is back as Americans celebrated diversity and inclusion,” the California Democrat and possible 2028 presidential candidate said in a video posted to his X account. “Likely three Black governors, the first Latina governor in Texas, the first Muslim American senator, the first gay [male] senator. I love this America!” Yes, nothing says lower grocery bills like I Am Jazz, tampons in boys’ bathrooms, and oral sex education for sixth-graders. Terry Stoops, director of Government Affairs for national parental rights organization Defending Education, says Khanna’s DEI declaration gets to the heart of what the Democrats’ agenda will be when they assume power. The truth, Stoops said, is that DEI never left the Democratic Party despite some “progressives” in tight races toning down the men in women’s sports and locker rooms talk. While Stoops sees congressional Democrats pushing some DEI legislation, the full-on campaign will be in the majority of state legislatures they will control as of Jan. 3. In Iowa, for instance, Governor-elect Rob Sand, a Democrat parading as a moderate, has tapped Morgan Miller as co-director of his transition team. Miller is political director of the Iowa State Education Association, the state’s teachers union. “Now, why is this important? This is important because the National Education Association and all of its affiliates, including the Iowa State Education Association, have been the strongest proponent of DEI,” Stoops told me recently during an interview on NewsRadio 1040 WHO in Des Moines. ‘Collecting on those Investments’ The far-left NEA’s so-called EdJustice initiative “engages and mobilizes activists in the fight for racial, social, and economic justice in public education,” according to its website. Constitutions and bylaws of state NEA members are saturated with constitutionally suspect woke quotas. Perhaps not surprisingly, the California Teachers Association 2024-2025 Elections Manual states At-Large Representatives “must be BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color).” The Michigan Education Association’s 2023 Board Policies Book required the MEA’s Governing Board be comprised of “Two (2) members who identify as Black, Indigenous or a Person of Color (BIPOC) appointed by the chairperson based upon recommendation of local associations.” The NEA spent more than a half billion dollars on political activity and advocacy over a decade, between 2016 and 2025, according to a report issued last month by the North American Values Institute, a nonpartisan organization tracking extremism in the classroom and promoting American civic values. The report found the nation’s largest teachers union’s disclosures substantially understated “the full scope of its activity.” “Substantial sums also flowed through its super PAC, advocacy organizations, and intermediary groups, making the ultimate destination of union dollars harder to trace,” the NAVI reported. To pay for some of its political activity, NEA delegates “approved a $10 dues increase for a ballot-measure and media fund projected to generate more than $20 million annually.” “The NEA and its state affiliates have made substantial investments in both the congressional candidates and state level candidates and they are going to be collecting on those investments,” Stoops said. “They are going to be expecting people like governor-elect Rob Sand, the congressional candidates, the state-level candidates for the legislature to begin to reintroduce many of those DEI initiatives we thought were long dead.” They are alive and well in certain quarters, where the constitution no longer counts. Colorado state Sen. Iman Jodeh kicked off the triumphant return of diversity, equity, and inclusion by advertising a paid legislative internship program open exclusively to candidates who identify as Muslim, North African, or South Asian. White kids need not apply. Jodeh, the first Muslim elected to the Colorado legislature, noted that applicants also must be interested in policy and “social change/justice.” On its face, the internship program appears to be in violation of state and federal anti-discrimination laws. Colorado State Senator Iman Jodeh, who’s celebrated as the first muslim elected to the Colorado legislature, is advertising an internship program at the Colorado CapitolQualifications are you have to be muslim or north african.This is illegal.Cc @CivilRights pic.twitter.com/GQTGxSk1Iq— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 11, 2026 Emboldened by their sweeping election wins, congressional Democrats have made it clear they will weaponize committees to go after the Trump administration for dismantling the Department of Education, a massive feeder of DEI programs and initiatives. In the minority, Democrats were unable to stop further erosion of the DOE. Now, feeling their new power, members of the incoming majority plan to take another bite at the apple. But Trump’s veto stands in the way of their big, radical plans. No matter, leaders of the education industrial complex say. The idea is to keep up the pressure. “Even if he vetoes them, let’s put the pressure on to get it to his desk, and then you see what the contrast is,” Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers told ABC News. ‘You Have Another Thing Coming’ Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., sees the left’s big electoral victories as an open door for reparations. Following the election, the Squad member implored fellow Democrats to do what congressional Republicans so often fail to do: use their power. The DEI lawmaker wants it all, and she wants it now — in the name of “affordability”, of course. “Democrats, don’t just talk about healthcare justice, pass Medicare for All. Democrats, don’t just talk about abortion justice, pass the EACH Act, and repeal the Hyde Amendment. Democrats, don’t just talk about black lives mattering, enact reparations now. Democrats, don’t just talk about ending ICE’s terror, take every last dollar from them and abolish ICE,” Pressley exhorted her fellow radicals. The 1619 Project, Ethnic Studies, Black Lives Matter, pronouns, cancel culture, cultural competency, implicit bias. What may have gone underground in recent years amid a parental revolt is coming back in full force in the wake of the Bluenami. “If you thought those things were dead, you have another thing coming,” Defending Education’s Stoops said. Matt Kittle is a senior elections correspondent for The Federalist. An award-winning investigative reporter and 30-year veteran of print, broadcast, and online journalism, Kittle previously served as the executive director of Empower Wisconsin. Ayanna PressleyChuck SchumerDEIDonald TrumpGreen New DealHakeem JeffriesRo Khanna