LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) — Michigan’s Supreme Court is done saying “DEI.” Whether it’s done doing DEI is a different question, as the court rebrands its commission but keeps the same members and mandate.

In a Nov. 26 order, the court scrapped all references to “diversity, equity and inclusion,” renaming its four-year-old unit the Commission on Fairness and Public Trust.  Justice Elizabeth Welch said the shift reflects the reality that DEI has become a “political lightning rod,” even as the court insists its work centers on “fairness” and “accountability.”

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Welch, a Democratic-nominated justice, argued that the new name better fits the panel’s mission and “accords with universal values” in state and federal law.

Not everyone was convinced, however. Justice Brian Zahra, the court’s lone Republican-nominated member, said the change looks more like camouflage than reform. He warned that simply “scraping the name off” leaves the underlying ideology untouched and risks eroding public trust. Zahra said he would have dissolved the commission entirely.

To Zahra’s point, the rebrand is mostly cosmetic. The 25-member body remains intact, with the same structure and powers outlined when the DEI commission was created in 2022. References to demographic representation and underrepresented groups were removed, replaced with language about “varied and transferable skillsets” and ensuring confidence in the courts.