A letter by Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) claims that the United States Air Force is continuing to push the Biden administration’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI agenda) in direct violation of federal law.
In a letter obtained by The Daily Wire, Banks addressed Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower & Reserve Affairs Alex Wagner, claiming that the Air Force had disguised the implementation of its DEI agenda to thwart provisions in the 2024 National Defense Authorization ACT (NDAA) that prevent the Defense Department from adding new DEI positions or filling any vacant DEI positions.
Banks, who serves as the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Military Personnel, wrote, “Rather than following the law, it appears that the Air Force has simply rebranded DEI.”
The Daily Wire reported that Banks’s letter comes as the U.S. military navigates the 2024 NDAA’s ban against new DEI initiatives. This year’s NDAA included provisions intended to stop President Joe Biden’s Defense Department from implementing its DEI agenda.
According to The Daily Wire, the DEI ban was passed in response to the Biden administration’s push to establish DEI offices and promote DEI and critical race theory policies in the federal government. The outlet noted that Biden’s Department of Defense has prioritized DEI initiatives and even requested $270 million for DEI programs during fiscal years 2022, 2023, and 2024.
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In his letter to the Air Force, Banks pointed to a military training called “Supporting Systemic Equality,” which was led by a consulting firm known as Team Triad and was hosted at Ramstein Air Base, as well as other military installations. According to The Daily Wire, the training was intended to “highlight the benefits of diversity and equality” to help Air Force members “recognize the importance of empowerment & equity” and to “understand what it means to be an ally.”
Banks warned, “This training is an attempt by the Air Force to contravene the clear intent of the law: Prohibited from hiring new DEI positions or filling vacant ones, the Air Force has simply contracted out its DEI training.”
Banks told The Daily Wire that American bureaucrats who prioritize the Biden administration’s “woke agenda” over federal law are “in for a rude awakening.”
“Biden DOD officials need to realize that they won’t have a left wing radical Commander in Chief forever,” Banks stated. “Congress has prohibited the military from hiring new DEI officials and Republicans will keep using our oversight authority to enforce the laws on the books.”
