The Trump administration announced Friday it will strip the American Bar Association of its sole authority to accredit U.S. law schools. The move escalates a battle over legal education’s political direction.
Administration’s Action
Department of Education staff recommended the ABA lose its accreditor status, forwarding the recommendation to the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity. Undersecretary Nicholas Kent will review the proposal.
“Accreditation operates like a cartel when there’s no competition,” Assistant Secretary David Barker told The Wall Street Journal. He said the ABA freely injects its political preferences into law school standards.
The planned NACIQI hearing in September could block the ABA’s renewal, officials say, though the meeting also addresses unrelated issues from a prior renewal. Stakeholders expect the session to serve as a key test of the administration’s push to curb what it calls ideological capture of legal education.
Losing ABA accreditation would still allow law schools tied to larger universities to be accredited under the parent institution’s umbrella, but schools without that affiliation risk losing eligibility for federal student loans. This could reshape access to federal financing for legal education.
A 500‑page Department of Education report found the ABA lacks independence from the legal profession, making it unfit to set accreditation standards, the Journal reported. The document cites multiple examples of ABA influence that critics deem biased.
“The ABA has abused its role to push leftist ideology in the legal profession,” Judicial Crisis Network President Carrie Severino posted on social media. She warned the association lost credibility years ago and will now face repercussions.
Outside groups such as Protect the Public’s Trust have intensified pressure on the ABA, and the Trump administration has targeted university accreditors broadly, calling accreditation a “secret weapon” against far‑left capture of higher education. Earlier this week the Education Department released a proposed rule to streamline recognition of new accreditors, reinforcing the administration’s broader push.
Although the ABA claims it has halted overt discriminatory policies like affirmative‑action hiring and DEI programming, critics argue these moves are temporary and will reverse under a Democratic administration. They warn the current stance is a strategic pause rather than a permanent change.
Breccan F. Thies is the White House correspondent for The Federalist. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism.
As an investigative journalist, he previously covered education and culture issues for the Washington Examiner and Breitbart News. He holds a degree from the University of Virginia and is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. You can follow him on X: @BreccanFThies.
