The FBI closed its diversity, equity, and inclusion office in December, a new report confirmed on Thursday.
“In recent weeks, the FBI took steps to close the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI), effective by December 2024,” the FBI office told Fox News.
Although the FBI did not give a reason for the closure, the department has received much criticism in the past year for its radical DEI positions, as have many other government institutions.
“The question is why were they allowed to be focused on DEI in the first place?” Senator Marsha Blackburn said in a statement to the New York Post. “The FBI should be focused on catching criminals, not winning participation trophies.”
Blackburn wrote a letter to now-resigned FBI director Christopher Wray earlier this month, criticizing the department’s past of settling for “lower quality candidates to satisfy DEI mandates.”
“To that end, I am deeply concerned that — under your leadership — the Bureau has prioritized Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives over its core mission of protecting the American people,” Blackburn wrote.
After the New Year’s Day terrorist attack in New Orleans, for example, during which ISIS sympathizer Shamsud-Din Jabbar allegedly rammed into a crowd with a pickup truck, killing 15, the FBI assistant special agent in charge of the investigation initially refused to label the event a terrorist attack. DEI initiatives allowed the agency to hire not based on merit, but on DEI, Republicans have alleged.
“The law enforcement and intelligence capabilities of the FBI are degrading because the FBI is no longer hiring ‘the best and brightest’ candidates to fill the position of Special Agent of the FBI,” Representative Jim Jordan, who chaired the House Judiciary Committee, said in a letter to Wray. “An increasing number of lower quality candidates — described by one source as ‘bread crumbs’ because they were rejected by other federal law enforcement agencies — are applying to become FBI Special Agents; and the FBI is selecting those candidates to become FBI Special Agents because they satisfy the FBI’s priority to meet Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) mandates.”
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for FBI director, Kash Patel, has announced his plans move the FBI out of Washington, D.C., and depoliticize the agency. Trump himself has many times committed to dismantling DEI programs across the country.
On its former DEI Web page, the FBI said that it is “committed to cultivating a diverse and inclusive workforce.”
“We believe that differences in thought and belief, in race and religion, in orientation, and in ability contribute to more effective decision making, drive innovation, and enhance the employee experience. We know that a more diverse workforce allows us to connect with and maintain the trust of the American people. We also understand we have work to do. We stand committed, as today’s FBI, to fostering a culture of inclusivity and diversity,” the website said.
Former FBI special agent Nicole Parker told Fox News Digital on Thursday that the “constant push for social justice weaponization at the FBI” kneecapped the agency’s ability to “protect the American people and uphold the Constitution.”
“DEI is a dangerous distraction,” she said. “I have no issue in celebrating whatever you would like regarding your heritage or gender or religion. But that should be done on your own time and not with the U.S. taxpayers’ dollars while on official Bureau time.”