A newly obtained email revealed Tuesday showed that President Joe Biden’s State Department is allegedly discriminating against “straight, white men” and people who are not of the “right” religion during the hiring process.
The email from a senior department official described how department staff responsible for hiring said that “certain candidates could not be hired because they have a disability, they are white men, they are straight white men, and they are not of the ‘right’ religion.”
During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on so-called “diversity, equity and inclusion,” Sen. Cruz questioned the State Department’s Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley about the email, asking if she had “cleared” the discriminatory guidance detailed therein.
“I’ve never seen that before,” she responded.
Cruz pressed Abercrombie-Winstanley on the email, asking if she was aware of the State Department’s apparent practice of discriminating against people with disabilities, white men, straight white men and people who are not of the “right” religion.
“I’m not sure what that meant, but I suspect it meant that if someone is a Christian,” Cruz speculated, adding, “Are you aware that these practices are happening at the State Department?”
“I am definite and certain that they are not happening at the State Department,” she replied.
Cruz then asked if Abercrombie-Winstanley believed the senior department official who sent the email “was lying.”
“Senator, I can’t comment on…not…I don’t know who that’s from. I don’t know if it’s…I’ve never seen it before,” she responded.
The Texas senator asked Abercrombie-Winstanley to clarify her earlier statement that she was “certain discrimination does not happen at the State Department.”
“I am saying that it is against the law and we certainly are not overtly or on purpose breaking the law at the Department of State,” Abercrombie-Winstanley replied. “Certainly, there are members of our organization who do discriminate, who do harass, who do bully, which is why we are trying to put in place programs to address it and to strengthen accountability for those who do it and break the law.”
“I have to say, ambassador, I find it a little bit amazing that this discrimination is being reported to be ongoing in the administration and you are professing to be unaware of it,” Cruz said. “I’m reminded of a line from the movie Office Space: ‘What would you say you do around here?’ What is your job if not to stop discrimination, and unfortunately, I believe what you’re job in practice is is encouraging this discrimination.”
“This is a manifestation,” he continued. “You just said a minute ago in testimony, your hiring and promotion in the State Department will depend on complying with the edicts from your office.”
Earlier in his questioning, Sen. Cruz stated that he believes President Joe Biden’s administration is “staffed by radicals.”
“You’re empowered as the State Department’s first stand alone chief diversity and inclusion officer. Your mandate is to promote a concept on the left called equity, which I think is nothing more than brazen discrimination,” Cruz said to Abercrombie-Winstanley.
“You were appointed in April 2021, and as you extensively testified this morning, you introduced fundamental changes to the State Department hiring practices in line with the mandate of equity to affirmatively and aggressively discriminate. A year after your appointment, in April 2022, the State Department released its quote ‘Equity Action Plan,’ to integrate these so-called equity principles into quote ‘all aspects of State Department foreign affairs,” he continued. “That very week, just days after you published the ‘Equity Action Plan,’ and one year after you began your tenure, a senior State Department official broadly distributed what I consider to be a very troubling email.”
