A new report by OpenTheBooks reveals that the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) employs 294 people in diversity-focused positions, with 182 of them earning six-figure salaries. The top earner, working at the FDA, makes $221,000 annually. The department’s 2025 budget mentions diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives 829 times, representing hundreds of millions in spending.
The report highlights various DEI-related expenditures, including targeted vaccine programs for gay Black men, opioid programs addressing systemic racism, and a $5 million proposal to diversify the doula workforce. Notable spending includes $5,000 for a virtual appearance by antiracism author Ibram X. Kendi at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2022, which came with strict usage restrictions and required removal after 30 days.
HHS, which employs about 80,000 people across multiple divisions, has 92 DEI employees working under Secretary Xavier Becerra, with over 200 others distributed throughout various agencies.
The FDA alone maintains three separate DEI-related divisions. The initiative stems from President Biden’s “whole of government” approach to advancing DEI throughout federal agencies.
The report particularly focuses on minority health offices, such as the CDC’s 42-person office that began promoting inclusion and accessibility in medical research in 2021. The CDC has also emphasized vaccine equity, especially targeting Black communities and specific demographics.
Critics, including OpenTheBooks head John Hart, argue that DEI spending at HHS diverts resources from healthcare and promotes problematic policies. Hart describes it as “concierge Marxism,” suggesting it provides bureaucrats with moral justification for implementing top-down policies that may harm low-income Americans.
The report suggests that unwinding these initiatives could prove challenging for the incoming Trump administration, as the DEI worldview is deeply embedded in academia and supported by significant public funding.
Read more: Equity overload: Health and Human Services Department keeps 294 DEI staffers on payroll
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