Greg Murphy, the representative for North Carolina’s District 3, said that dismantling Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) requirements in medical education ensures merit-based standards and protects the quality of patient care.
“I applaud the Trump administration for rooting out the discriminatory and demeaning requirements of DEI in medical education,” said Murphy. “These practices reward political activism and not merit. Patients deserve better.”
In early 2025, the Trump administration issued executive orders targeting DEI in medical education by threatening to defund accrediting agencies that require DEI standards. According to The Guardian, the administration also invoked Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to challenge university DEI programs, arguing they constituted racial discrimination. These moves reflect a broader federal effort to dismantle institutional DEI frameworks across education systems.
A 2022 report from the Association of American Medical Colleges found that 63.4% of U.S. medical schools had implemented faculty diversity recruitment plans, and 67.3% required diverse candidate pools for hiring. Additionally, 80.2% collected demographic data to support DEI planning, although only 48.5% made that data accessible to their campus communities. These findings illustrate the widespread adoption and variation in transparency of DEI programs.
A 2023 scoping review published by the National Library of Medicine found that DEI-focused medical education programs improved cultural competence and awareness of healthcare disparities among residents. The study indicated these interventions were well-received by trainees and employed diverse instructional strategies, supporting their effectiveness in enhancing clinical education outcomes.
Murphy, a Republican representing North Carolina’s 3rd District since 2019, is a practicing urologist and co-chair of the GOP Doctors Caucus. According to his official House biography, he previously served in the North Carolina General Assembly and now focuses on healthcare policy, medical workforce issues, and opioid addiction legislation in Congress. His background informs his active role in shaping federal medical policy.
