<div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-0"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">The Jefferson Council, a band of conservative-leaning University of Virginia alumni, was impatient and fed up.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">For years, the group had <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/23/us/uva-diversity-board-bert-ellis.html" title="">railed</a> against the university’s president, James E. Ryan, for his robust promotion of campus diversity initiatives.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">They had counted on Glenn Youngkin, the state’s Republican governor who <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/08/us/politics/glenn-youngkin-dei-carlyle-virginia.html" title="">vocally</a> opposed D.E.I., to force a new direction at one of the country’s most prestigious public universities. But as 2025, the final year of Mr. Youngkin’s term, began, the university’s diversity, equity and inclusion apparatus was still in place. And time was running out, with <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://virginiamercury.com/briefs/new-poll-shows-spanberger-with-17-point-lead-over-earle-sears/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">polls</a> showing that the governor’s race would be an uphill battle for a Republican candidate.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">But the Jefferson Council had a new ally in its campaign: President Trump.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">In his first week in office, Mr. Trump signed executive <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/20/us/politics/trump-transgender-race-education.html" title="">orders</a> banning federal diversity, equity and inclusion programs, which <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/13/nyregion/trump-dei-executive-orders-schools.html" title="">threatened</a> any public and private universities receiving federal funds.</p></div><aside aria-label="companion column" class="css-ew4tgv"></aside></div><div data-testid="Dropzone-1"></div><div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-1"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">The Justice Department then hired a lawyer to help enforce those orders at its Civil Rights Division: Gregory W. Brown, a University of Virginia alumnus and donor.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">The Jefferson Council was well acquainted with Mr. Brown. As a lawyer in private practice, he had sued his alma mater on behalf of students claiming free speech violations or antisemitic harassment — cases referred to him by the council.</p><div class="css-kbghgg"><div class="css-121kum4"><div class="css-171quhb"></div><div class="css-asuuk5"><noscript><div class="css-7axq9l" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="css-1b5b8u1" height="24" viewbox="0 0 24 24" width="24"><path clip-rule="evenodd" d="M2.5 12a9.5 9.5 0 1 1 19 0 9.5 9.5 0 0 1-19 0Zm8.5 1.75v-7.5h2v7.5h-2Zm0 2v2h2v-2h-2Z" fill="currentColor" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg><div class="css-6yo1no" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript-message"><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.</p><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.</p></div></div></noscript><div class="css-1dv1kvn" id="optimistic-truncator-a11y" tabindex="-1"><hr/><p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. 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