In the last two years has DEI and the administrative state been clobbered Thought for 20s Yes — both have faced major, deliberate reductions over the past ~22 months (roughly since the start of the second Trump administration in January 2025), with DEI hit harder and more explicitly than the broader administrative state.DEIThe Trump administration made ending federal DEI a day-one priority and has continued pressing it across government, contracting, education, and (via pressure and investigations) the private sector. whitehouse.gov Key actions include:Multiple executive orders and memoranda terminating DEI offices, programs, preferences, and related Biden-era policies across federal agencies. The White House has highlighted 17 such actions and declared “DEI is dead.” Large reported cuts: the administration claims roughly $7.3 billion in DEI spending cut or canceled and $29.4 billion frozen or under review, plus hundreds of millions in settlements or recoveries from universities and companies. Specific examples include over $600 million cut from Education Department DEI-related teacher training grants and other equity programs. whitehouse.gov Education Department actions under Secretary Linda McMahon, including removal of DEI materials, grant cancellations, and related policy reversals. Pressure on federal contractors and grant recipients (via executive orders and DOJ scrutiny) that has driven widespread private-sector pullbacks. Companies such as Deloitte, Target, Walmart, Goldman Sachs, T-Mobile, and others scaled back or ended DEI goals, reporting, and programming. Many universities shuttered DEI offices or centers. hotpaths.com Federal workforce impacts: DEI-related roles and offices were among the first targets of DOGE-driven reductions. Overall federal civilian separations have been large (hundreds of thousands via resignations, early retirements, and firings). There has been legal pushback and incomplete implementation in places. Some guidance was abandoned or modified after court challenges, and not every private entity fully complied. Critics describe the changes as a broad rollback of equity efforts rather than purely anti-discrimination measures. Still, the scale of formal federal dismantling and the private-sector response has been substantial and rapid compared with prior periods.Administrative stateEfforts to constrain and shrink the bureaucracy have also been aggressive, though the results are more mixed and contested than on DEI.Main developments:DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) and related executive orders drove workforce reductions, contract terminations, agency consolidations, and elimination of certain non-statutory functions. Reports cite large numbers of separations (e.g., 420,000+ by mid-2026 in some tallies) and deep cuts at specific agencies such as HHS. kff.org Revival and implementation of a Schedule F-style system (Schedule Policy/Career). This reclassifies thousands of policy-influencing career officials, reducing traditional civil-service protections and making them easier to remove. Deregulatory actions leveraging the 2024 Loper Bright Supreme Court decision (which ended Chevron deference). The administration has issued executive directives to rescind rules lacking the “best reading” of statutory authority and claims hundreds of deregulatory actions in 2025. The Congressional Review Act has also been used repeatedly to nullify late Biden-era rules (23+ in the second term by spring 2026). realclearpolicy.com Additional orders on reducing bureaucracy, consolidating procurement, streamlining permitting (e.g., NEPA), and targeting specific agencies or programs. Limitations exist: many actions face lawsuits; some fast-track deregulation strategies saw limited uptake; overall federal employment reductions, while large, have been smaller than the most ambitious rhetoric in certain analyses; and future administrations can reverse many personnel and regulatory changes. The administrative state has not been dismantled, but it has faced sustained pressure on size, personnel protections, and regulatory authority that is historically significant.In short, DEI has been systematically targeted and largely dismantled inside the federal government, with clear downstream effects on contractors, universities, and many companies. The administrative state has been meaningfully constrained through workforce cuts, personnel reclassification, and post-Loper Bright deregulation, though the transformation is incomplete and reversible. Both shifts accelerated sharply after January 2025.

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AI Overview As of the November 3, 2026 midterm elections, state legislative supermajorities—where one political party holds enough seats to override a governor's veto and pass legislation with minimal friction—are split widely across the country. A total of 22 to 27 states hold legislative supermajorities depending on the election outcomes currently being tallied. In these states, a single party holds overwhelming legislative power, drastically smoothing the pathway to pass budgets, enact taxes, or completely bypass an opposing governor’s veto. States with Secure or Resilient Supermajorities The following states have entered the midterms with deep, highly resilient party control that is expected to remain largely secure, allowing for smooth legislative control: 🟦 Resilient Democratic Supermajorities • California: Enters the night with a deeply entrenched Democratic supermajority in both chambers, ensuring complete control over the state budget and major tax thresholds. • Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Rhode Island: Hold highly reliable supermajorities that are not considered at serious risk of fracturing. 🟥 Resilient Republican Supermajorities • Kentucky: Maintains an exceptionally high "+29 seat" supermajority cushion in its House, functioning as a powerful counterweight to block and override Democratic Governor Andy Beshear. • Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wyoming: These states feature deeply conservative majorities where the threshold for veto overrides is either inherently safe or requires only a simple/three-fifths majority, making their governing smooth and unified. Supermajorities Facing Forecast Shockwaves According to final pre-election forecasting data compiled by State Navigate and Ballotpedia, several long-standing supermajorities face intense headwinds that could disrupt smooth single-party control: ⚠️ Republican Supermajorities at High Risk of Breaking A wave of competitive races across historically red chambers means several key Republican supermajorities are heavily exposed or predicted to fall into standard majorities tonight: • Kansas & Missouri: The Kansas House (91% chance of breaking) and both chambers in Missouri are on high alert, potentially weakening the GOP's absolute legislative supremacy. • Florida: Long a bastion of unified Republican rule, both the Florida House (87% chance of breaking) and Senate (59% chance) enter the night highly vulnerable to losing their veto-proof thresholds. • Iowa, Nebraska, and Indiana: Models give high probabilities that their top-heavy legislative supermajorities will drop down to narrow majorities. 🚀 Democratic Supermajorities Expected to Expand Conversely, final projections show Democrats are positioned to potentially gain new supermajorities or solidify tight margins in several blue-leaning states: • Vermont & Colorado: Highly expected to secure or expand veto-proof Democratic control across both legislative chambers. • Washington & New York: Forecasted to cross the supermajority finish line in their respective Houses or Senates, enabling frictionless, single-party legislative agendas.