Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) is requesting internal information from the
Department of Defense
, accusing the government agency of prioritizing “woke” initiatives over military preparedness.
In a letter sent to Secretary of Defense
Lloyd Austin
on Monday, Schmitt demanded answers over the department’s efforts to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion within its operations by adding positions solely dedicated to achieving those purposes. Schmitt specifically requested information on the DOD’s budget, pressing for answers on how much money defense officials allocate toward
DEI-related positions
.
“America’s adversaries will not be defeated by spending six figures to hire DEI administrators,” Schmitt said. “The Department of Defense’s prioritization of DEI weakens America’s ability to challenge our adversaries by diverting resources from military preparedness to woke training. The military must be focused on confronting threats abroad with overwhelming superiority, and not waging culture wars at home.”
Schmitt pointed to several job openings posted by the Air Force for senior DEI positions in Virginia, Maryland, Alabama, and Alaska, with some positions paying up to $183,500 a year. The Missouri senator also cited job listings from the U.S. Navy that showed “multiple six-figure DEI jobs,” including one that paid an annual salary of up to $183,500.
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The job listings come as President
Joe Biden
has made equity one of the core tenets of his administration, referencing the term roughly 62 times in his proposed budget released earlier this month. It also comes after the DOD requested $86.5 million to go toward “diversity and inclusion activities” as part of its proposed budget last year.
Schmitt criticized Austin for the DOD’s efforts to prioritize diversity and equity provisions in its budget, arguing the department should be more focused on combating “the serious threat” posed by China.
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“China will not be defeated by DEI,” Schmitt wrote to Austin. “Instead, the Department of Defense’s focus on DEI weakens America’s ability to deter or defeat China by diverting resources away from increasing lethality in favor of woke training. The Department of Defense should be focused on preventing and winning actual wars abroad, not fighting culture wars at home.”
Schmitt then demanded answers from Austin on a number of questions, including how many DEI-related positions exist in the DOD, how much money is allocated toward these positions, as well as a breakdown of all DEI-related training military officers must complete. Austin has until March 29 to comply with his requests.
