The Department of Education has taken its first official step toward limiting the American Bar Association’s (ABA) authority over law school accreditation, which has covered nearly 200 schools over the past 70 years. Assistant Education Secretary David Barker told The Wall Street Journal that he views the accreditation system as a cartel because oversight agencies often lack competition and can inject their own political preferences. Melissa Hart, chair of the ABA’s Accreditation Council, said the department’s action was part of the regular recognition process that accreditors periodically undergo and that a hearing would be the next step. Accreditation serves as an educational quality check, determines access to federal loans and, in many states, is required for law graduates to take the bar exam. The move fits a broader Trump administration effort to use grants and government funding to pressure educational institutions. The Department of Education announced in March that it would investigate more than 50 colleges and universities over alleged racial preferences, while the ABA faced pressure in May to roll back Standard 206 on diversity and inclusion. Republicans have also accused the ABA of left-leaning political bias. In late 2025, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) called it an arm of a political left-wing party, and in February 2025, Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson barred political appointees from renewing their ABA membership, accusing the association of advancing radical left-wing causes and promoting Big Tech’s business interests.