Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) led a letter Wednesday to the Biden Administration as it takes steps to retaliate against universities for discriminating against individuals desiring to be addressed with outlandish “woke” pronouns. The letter coincided with a roundtable hosted by the House Anti-Woke Caucus, which Banks chairs, featuring writer Christopher Rufo.
The letter, cosigned by Reps. Harriet Hageman (R-WY), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), and Brian Babin (R-TX), regards a recent investigation the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights opened into the New College of Florida.
A letter from a department attorney to the college disclosed an investigation based on an allegation that the college engaged in unlawful discrimination based on disability for, among other things, failing to address the college’s now former DEI director with “ze/zer” pronouns. The letter asks for information on the specifics of the allegations and if the department agrees that failing to use Ze/Zer pronouns is evidence of discrimination.
During the roundtable, Rufo explained that radical left activists hope the investigation into New College will cement diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) principles, gender studies, and “ze/zer” pronouns into civil rights law — a goal held for decades. “This ideology is not new. Any ideas that you see from BLM, from the furthest left members of the U.S. House of Representatives, to a T, they were already fully formed, fully developed, and had the exact phrasing in 1968.”
Rufo discussed the need for conservatives to remain vigilant against these ideas that persisted after the fall of the Soviet Union and infiltrated nearly all American institutions including schools, governments, and armed forces. “The core marxist ideology is a recurring feature in our society, it always comes back to life. It’s like a zombie ideology.”
House Republicans have had success this Congress, with Banks citing provisions sought by caucus members in the House-passed FY2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) defunding DEI initiatives at the Pentagon. Rufo proposed that conservatives “flip the script” to enable further wins, both on Capitol Hill and electorally, arguing conservatives must project their own visions for justice and equality. “Conservatives ceded the word ‘equality’ to the left,” arguing for conservatives to be aggressive in taking it back. “Some try to denigrate this as culture war, as if somehow that’s not a war worth fighting, but the culture war is the only war worth fighting.”
Other members of the Anti-Woke Caucus participating in the roundtable included Reps. Michael Waltz (R-FL), Kevin Hern (R-OK), Mary Miller (R-IL), and Doug LaMalfa (R-CA).
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