(The Center Square) – The Tennessee General Assembly is beginning to look at the state budget and what is going on in Washington needs to be considered, the chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee said Monday.

The committee reviewed the Tennessee 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, which showed the state’s net position increased by $2.1 billion for fiscal year 2025. The increase was down from the previous year, when the position increased by $6 billion. 

The decrease was attributed in part to a reduction in federal dollars flowing through the state. 

Chairman Bo Watson, R-Hixson, said as the budget process moves forward, lawmakers need to keep an eye on what’s happening on the federal level. 

“This committee needs to be very sensitive to the changes in federal dollars that may or may not be coming into the state and in a number of budget hearings we are going to hear conversations about, ‘well we are going to have this money because we can match potential federal dollars,'” Watson said. “Well, with what all is going on in D.C. right now, whether those federal dollars are going to be there or not is at least open to conjecture at this point since we’ve seen a freeze on federal funding in a number of areas already.”

The Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE, is scrutinizing federal spending. 

Lawmakers are delving into Gov. Bill Lee’s $59.5 billion budget that includes $3.9 billion in new spending. The budget does not have any tax breaks. Both parties filed bills this session calling for the elimination of the grocery tax. 

(The Center Square) – Vanderbilt University Medical Center will no longer be using diversity, equity and inclusion terms, while a Vanderbilt DEI student center changed its name – all in line with a trend of schools evaluating President Donald Trump’s DEI executive order.

“All [Vanderbilt University Medical Center] academic department and center websites were instructed to remove any references to diversity, equity and inclusion and associated phrases from their websites per email correspondence to VUMC affiliates,” Vanderbilt student paper The Hustler reported.

This news follows Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order entitled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” that called for “the termination of all discriminatory programs, including illegal DEI and ‘diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility’ (DEIA) mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities in the Federal Government, under whatever name they appear.”

The Hustler reported that “though VUMC is an independent non-profit, it has a contractual relationship with several government entities, therefore requiring it to comply with federal regulatory guidelines to maintain these subcontracts.”

VUMC declined to comment when reached, while Vanderbilt media relations did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

The notice sent to VUMC and obtained by The Hustler read: “Underpinning our work at VUMC is a commitment to fostering a welcoming environment, and that commitment remains steadfast. However, as our regulatory requirements change, so must our programs.”

DEI “references” no longer in use include “DEI, DEIA, health equity, health disparity, health inequity, social drivers of health, social determinants of health, social justice, racial justice/equity, equal access to health care, unconscious bias, microaggression, climate change and environmental justice,” The Hustler reported.

In addition to VUMC doing away with DEI, Vanderbilt University’s Student Center for Social Justice and Identity (SCSJI) has been renamed the Student Center for Belonging and Communities (SCBC), The Hustler reported.

The SCSJI’s vision was to “create a community where liberation, inclusion, and social justice are not just ideals but the very fabric of our environment,” according to an internet archive of the website.

The SCBC no longer shares that vision, but does still share the vision “to develop the next generation of transnational leaders one student at a time,” by “utilizing globally recognized curriculums, art-based pedagogies, and critical thinking to facilitate transformative educational experiences,” according to the SCBC webpage.

When asked twice for comment, Student Affairs at Vanderbilt did not respond.

Across the U.S., schools that train medical professionals are reviewing and evaluating Trump’s DEI-terminating executive order, as The Center Square previously reported.