Exclusive: Eric Schmitt Moves to End ‘Woke Pet Projects’ in the Military

Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) successfully inserted four amendments into the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would limit the Department of Defense’s (DOD) ability to conduct diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, Breitbart News can exclusively reveal.

The NDAA authorizes funding levels and provides authorities for the U.S. military and other critical defense priorities. The 2024 NDAA largely focuses on national security, including competition with China, and disruptive technologies such as hypersonic weapons, artificial intelligence (AI), and quantum computing.

However, as many conservatives hope to realign the military along these strategic goals, President Joe Biden and Biden Pentagon officials have argued that DEI would make the military stronger.

As Breitbart News’s defense correspondent, Kristina Wong, noted, “they were short on data to back up their arguments.”

To fight DEI in the military, Breitbart News has learned that Schmitt successfully inserted four amendments into the NDAA. This includes:

1. Amendment 371 directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to fully audit the DOD’s DEI workforce and its planned expansion over the next five years to provide transparency.
2. Amendment 373 prohibits DOD from establishing a new DEI administrator position and/or taking actions to fill vacancies in currently existing DEI billets, pending the outcome of the GAO report.
   1. Schmitt’s office contends that this would result in significant civilian personnel costs that can address threats such as China
3. Amendment 382 would require the Under Secretary of Defense (USD) to provide a report to the Armed Services Committee on the Enhanced Education Program within the National Defense Education Program. Schmitt’s office noted that there are concerns that awards in this program are based on “progressive” curricula such as Critical Race Theory (CRT)
4. Amendment 377 would require the Secretary of State to detail the total manhours and resources expended on diversity, equity, and inclusion in 2023

Schmitt said in a written statement that his amendments would help curb “woke pet projects.”

He said:

The state of Missouri has a deep and proud military culture, spanning from Whiteman Air Force Base to Fort Leonard Wood. As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, my mission is to ensure that every single penny that we spend on defense goes towards increasing our preparedness to combat global threats like China. I am pleased to have secured critical funding for Missouri’s major military installations in this year’s National Defense Authorization Act that does just that.

Unfortunately, divisive DEI has crept into our nation’s military, which is hurting recruitment and driving a wedge between our servicemembers who rely deeply on working cohesively as a team. Our nation’s military is one of the single greatest meritocracies, and I intend to work to keep it that way. I fought to include amendments that will bring transparency to just how time and money much our military is spending on this divisive DEI, and enact a freeze on creating new DEI administrator positions or filling vacant DEI jobs.

Schmitt added, “I intend to continue the fight to use defense funding solely on preparedness and lethality, not woke pet projects.”