EXCLUSIVE — A House Republican is pressing the Biden administration to explain how the creation of jobs specializing in diversity, equity, and inclusion is critical to national security as lawmakers await a report from the Government Accountability Office to review the impact of such positions in the Defense Department.
Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin last week demanding information on whether a DEI hiring freeze has negatively affected the department and hindered officials from responding to foreign conflicts. The letter, exclusively shared with the Washington Examiner, directly references a measure in the National Defense Authorization Act passed last year that enacted a hiring freeze for new DEI positions until the GAO completes a review of its impact in the military.
The letter comes in response to the DOD implementing a diversity strategic plan, arguing such a move was “the only way … to outthink, outmaneuver, and outfight any adversary or threat.” The letter specifically pushes against claims by the Biden administration that DEI positions are crucial for national security, with Banks denouncing that argument as an “outlandish claim.”
“The Biden admin has repeatedly claimed that DEI is our military’s greatest strength but has never explained why or how,” said Banks, who serves on the House Committee on Armed Services. “Since the Biden Pentagon has gone all in on wokeness, our military is smaller and weaker than ever before. The madness must stop! Congress should make the DEI hiring freeze permanent.”
Banks laid out six questions he wants answered by Austin, including information on whether the hiring freeze has affected the DOD’s ability to respond to attacks such as the Houthi drone and missile strikes in the Red Sea as well as a drone strike in Jordan that killed three U.S. service members.
Banks also pressed the DOD on whether the DEI hiring freeze has negatively affected the U.S. military’s ability to curb the flow of fentanyl across the southern border or has increased the likelihood of China invading Taiwan.
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“Despite the hiring freeze and a budget cap, the Department has inexplicably requested $162 million for DEI initiatives in Fiscal Year 2025,” Banks wrote in the letter. “Before Congress spends any more of Americans’ tax dollars on these programs, I believe that the Office of Secretary of Defense must demonstrate their value.”
Banks gave Austin a deadline of April 26 to respond to the letter. The Washington Examiner contacted both the Defense Department and the GAO, but it has not received a response.