Donald Trump campaigned on, among other things, getting racially discriminatory “diversity, equity and inclusion” programs — DEI — out of government and out of American life.

While DEI is often justified by proponents as an effective way to “level the playing field” and give disadvantaged people a leg up, what it has often meant in reality is legalized discrimination and openly judging people based upon the color of their skin, the very thing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. warned about.

One of the areas most infected by the ideology has been higher education, and the administration is ramping up its efforts to root it out of the halls of academia. The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service are working on rules that will yank tax-exempt status from institutions that insist on choosing winners and losers according to race.

Let’s get back to focusing on something we used to call “merit”:

The Treasury and the IRS will issue the proposed regulations Thursday based on President Donald Trump’s executive orders that aim to restore merit and end discriminatory practices, an administration official told the Caller.

This rule would apply to private schools that participate in racially discriminatory practices across admissions, scholarships, athletics, loans, educational policies, and other school-administered programs. The rule could affect as many as 18,000 private schools, the official told the Caller.

“Under President Trump, this Administration is standing up for America’s students by ensuring racial discrimination has no place in American education,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told the Caller. “Schools rebranding race-based preferences as equitable, inclusive, or diversity-enhancing does not change their discriminatory nature.”

Bessent took to social media Thursday to announce the moves:

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Under @POTUS, this Administration is standing up for America’s students by ensuring racial discrimination has no place in American education. Schools rebranding race-based preferences as equitable, inclusive, or diversity-enhancing does not change their discriminatory nature. Today’s @USTreasury and @IRSnews proposed regulations establish a clear standard, and the institutions that continue to use discriminatory practices will no longer receive the benefits of federal tax-exempt status.

In a statement on the Treasury website, the department said the proposed rules are simple: discriminate, and you will pay:

Under the proposed rule, a private school would not qualify for Federal tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) if it adopts, maintains, or enforces a policy or practice that discriminates on the basis of race, color, or national or ethnic origin. The rule would apply across admissions, educational policies, scholarships and loans, athletics, and every other school-administered or school-supported program.

The updated policies would still allow schools to consider race-neutral factors such as family income, geographic location, first-generation status, individual hardship, military family status, or academic achievement in awarding financial aid and opportunities.

DEI may have originally been a well-intentioned philosophy to help the disadvantaged, but it quickly morphed into something more sinister: you will be judged upon your DNA and your appearance. This is against the very idea of America, but if you and your institution want to engage in that behavior, feel free.

But the federal government and the American people shouldn’t have to subsidize it, and if Bessent and the IRS get their way, we won’t have to.