Republicans Advance Bill to Defund House Office of Diversity and Inclusion

House Republicans advanced the 2024 legislative branch appropriations bill on Wednesday, which defunds the House Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

The House Appropriations Legislative Branch Subcommittee held its markup for the Fiscal Year 2024 bill, which would defund the House Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

The House Office of Diversity and Inclusion was established in the 116th Congress when then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Democrats took over Congress’s lower chamber.

The office seeks to:

… foster diversity among House employing offices, so that the House workforce reflects the diversity of America.

Additionally, the office will develop and conduct a survey to evaluate diversity in House employing offices.

The 116th Congress is the most diverse class of members in the history of Congress. More than one-in-five voting members, 22%, of the House and Senate are racial or ethnic minorities. A key component to ensuring the House celebrates and retains diversity is to promote policies which assist member offices in hiring and retaining a diverse workforce. Congressional staffers make a direct impact on the lives and wellbeing of millions of Americans, these staffers should reflect our rich diversity.

“DEI offices have no place in Congress or the rest of the federal government,” Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) said in a written statement. “I’m glad that Republicans on the Legislative Branch Subcommittee agreed with our letter and defunded House Office of Diversity and Inclusion. It is a good start, and the Anti-Woke Caucus is calling on all Republicans appropriators to follow their lead and defund DEI programs in every federal agency.”

“Congress should not be funding racist and divisive programs that further split our nation only to advance woke, left-wing propaganda,” Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) said in a written statement.

House Anti-Woke Caucus Chairman Banks has been moving to defund the office since March. He wrote in the letter to the subcommittee:

Wokeness divides Americans by race, gender, and sexual orientation and deems so-called “oppressors”
responsible for all current inequality and suffering. It is the belief that America’s prosperity and success
are built on past misdeeds. It seeks to replace the legal equality guaranteed by our Constitution with
government-mandated equity, or equal outcome.

In the letter, Banks noted that the House spent $3 million on the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.