“We are also going to eliminate all DEI and CRT bureaucracies in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said during a public appearance to articulate his education reform agenda.

In a speech posted to Twitter. DeSantis dismissed diversity efforts in universities as “window dressing” and claimed that these programs are “not representative of what the people of this state and the taxpayers of this state want.”

Echoing language that he has used to oppose other anti-racist policies, DeSantis accused DEI programs of ”imposing a political agenda” and said that these programs are “a drain on resources” at universities that would be defunded under his plan.

This new policy is the latest in a long list of controversial reforms that DeSantis has pushed through in Florida that have targeted Black Floridians, LGBTQ individuals and other communities. DeSantis has labeled these policies as a campaign against what he labels “woke” ideology.

One of his signature policies was the “Stop W.O.K.E. Act,” which banned critical race theory, a label that has been wrongly used by DeSantis and other Republicans to cover general discussions of racism in teaching history and other subjects. Another piece of legislation DeSantis signed last year prevents teachers from discussing issues of LGBTA identity in lower grades, a law that critics dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.  Most recently, Florida’s government rejected AP African American History for Florida high schools, a move that DeSantis supported. He even attempted to limit private companies from engaging in anti-racism trainings that might make white people feel uncomfortable.

DeSantis’ so-called “anti-woke” policies have had the common themes of further marginalizing communities that have already been the subject of discrimination in Florida and across the US. In doing so, DeSantis has sought to shape discourse within Florida by restricting ideas that do not fit his conservative agenda.

In doing so, DeSantis has become a leading figure within the Republican Party. He easily won reelection in 2022 and is the main rival to Donald Trump for the Republican nomination for president in 2024.

DeSantis’ plan to defund DEI programs needs approval from the Florida legislature, but the Republican-led state government is likely to pass this proposal as it has with many of the governor’s policies in the past. Thus, DeSantis’ anti-woke and anti-minority agenda shows no signs of slowing down. In the name of fighting political agendas, DeSantis seems set to continue to impose his own political agenda throughout Florida and may attempt to do so nationwide if he decides to run for president. Along the way, his policies will likely grow even more extreme, with Black Floridians and other groups remaining targets of DeSantis’ ideology.