Tennessee’s Toothless War on DEI: How HB0622 and HB0923 Prioritize Headlines Over Real Reform

Tennessee’s Toothless War on DEI: How HB0622 and HB0923 Prioritize Headlines Over Real Reform

`While President Donald Trump and national populist conservatives aggressively dismantle bureaucratic DEI structures and purge ideological corruption from federal agencies, Tennessee’s Republican supermajority has opted for a smoke-and-mirrors approach. Bills like HB0622 (“Dismantle DEI Act”) and HB0923 (“Dismantling DEI Departments Act”) may sound like strong conservative victories, but a closer look reveals their glaring lack of enforcement, selective targeting, and legal loopholes that render them mostly symbolic.

Instead of following Trump’s scorched-earth, results-driven approach, Tennessee lawmakers are engaged in performance politics—pushing legislation that sounds tough but lacks the power to actually eliminate DEI hiring practices. These bills are prime examples of the establishment Republican playbook: draft a bill, get good press, do nothing to ensure enforcement, and move on.

The Illusion of Action: HB0622 and HB0923 in Review

What HB0622 Claims to Do

 Sponsored by Senator Jack Johnson (R-D27-Franklin) and Representative Aaron Maberry (R-D68-Clarksville), HB0622 is marketed as a way to eliminate race- and gender-based hiring practices in local and metro governments and public universities. It prohibits agencies from making hiring decisions based on racial diversity goals or DEI-driven initiatives.

What’s Missing?

• No Penalties: If a university or local government violates this law, there are no consequences.
• No Oversight: There is no agency tasked with enforcement or investigating violations.
• No Whistleblower Protections: If an employee reports a violation, they have no safeguards from retaliation.
• State Agencies Are Exempt: The bill conveniently ignores state-run agencies, which are some of the largest employers using DEI hiring practices.

 In short, HB0622 bans DEI hiring practices but provides no mechanism to ensure anyone follows the law.

What HB0923 Claims to Do

Sponsored by Representative Aaron Maberry, HB0923 takes the illusion of anti-DEI action even further. Dubbed the “Dismantling DEI Departments Act,” it declares DEI offices and programs “void” in state government, county and municipal governments, and public universities.

What’s Missing?

• No Definition of “Discriminatory Preferences” – The bill states DEI programs cannot “promote or require discriminatory preferences,” but never defines what this means.
• No Enforcement – Just like HB0622, this bill does not assign penalties, oversight, or mechanisms for investigating compliance.
• No Private Sector or Contractor Restrictions – The bill only applies to government-run DEI offices and does nothing about state contractors, businesses, or private organizations that receive state funding but still enforce DEI policies.

Effectively, this bill doesn’t “dismantle” DEI—it just says DEI offices shouldn’t exist, but does nothing to ensure they don’t operate under different names or functions.

 These two bills are championed by the same old establishment Republican names who have built careers on writing feel-good legislation with no enforcement teeth:

 HB0622 Sponsors

• House Majority Leader William Lamberth
• House Speaker Cameron Sexton
• Caucus Chairman Jeremy Faison
• Reps. Lee Reeves, Jake McCalmon, Kip Capley, Rusty Grills, Timothy Hill, Bryan Terry, Michele Carringer, Elaine Davis, Paul Sherrell, Mary Littleton
• Senator Jackson Johnson (R-D27-Franklin) with SB1084

HB0923 Sponsor

• Rep. Aaron Maberry (Freshman, R-D68-Clarksville)
• Senator Jackson Johnson (R-D27-Franklin) with SB1084

 This establishment crowd has a long history of pushing conservative-sounding bills that lack the necessary enforcement mechanisms to make them truly effective. They take credit for “banning DEI,” but their legislation ensures DEI continues operating possibly under different names, free from consequences.

 Contrast: Trump’s DEI Purge vs. Tennessee’s Window Dressing

 While Tennessee’s Republican supermajority is pretending to fight DEI, Trump and national populists are actually doing it.

 How Trump Is Effectively Dismantling DEI

1.     Eliminating Federal DEI Budgets – Trump has cut funding streams for DEI offices in federal agencies, making their removal permanent.

2.     Firing Bureaucrats – The Trump administration identified and purged DEI-driven officials in agencies, ensuring these programs could not simply rebrand.

3.     Cutting Off Grants & Federal Contracts – Unlike Tennessee, Trump banned DEI-based hiring practices among contractors receiving federal money to prevent them from shifting DEI practices to the private sector.

4.     Enforcement Mechanisms – Executive orders banning DEI hiring were enforced with financial penalties, hiring freezes, and federal oversight.

 In contrast, Tennessee Republicans are passing bills that sound like Trump’s policies but are written to ensure nothing actually changes.

 How to Fix This: What Real Anti-DEI Legislation Looks Like

If Tennessee legislators are serious about dismantling DEI hiring policies, they would:

1. Apply the Ban to State Agencies

• HB0622 conveniently excludes state government agencies, which are some of the biggest DEI enforcers in Tennessee. A real bill would apply the same rules to ALL state entities.

2. Add Strict Enforcement Measures

• Assign an oversight body to audit hiring decisions for compliance.
• Create financial penalties for agencies found violating the law.
• Require DEI-related violations to be reported publicly so the public can see which agencies are refusing to comply.

3. Ban DEI for Contractors & Grant Recipients

• Prevent any organization receiving state funds from engaging in race-based hiring preferences or promoting DEI in workforce training.

4. Include Whistleblower Protections

• Employees who report violations should be protected from retaliation and given a clear path to file complaints.

5. Allow Lawsuits

• If an applicant or employee is discriminated against due to race-based hiring, they should have the right to sue.

 The Tennessee Republican establishment wants the credit of fighting DEI without the responsibility of actually ending it. HB0622 and HB0923 are designed to generate headlines, not results.

While Trump is executing a ruthless and effective purge of woke ideology in Washington, Tennessee lawmakers are still playing dress-up. If they were serious, they’d pass a bill with real enforcement, real penalties, and real change. Until then, this is nothing but political theater—a feel-good charade that accomplishes nothing.

Tennessee voters deserve better. Call your representatives and demand real action, not hollow victories.

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