Congress Disbands House’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion as Part of Yearly Funding Deal

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion in the House of Representatives will soon be disbanded as part of the bipartisan funding agreement reached by Speaker Johnson and Senator Schumer. It is a symbolic win for congressional Republicans who have gotten little done this session, but signals what a GOP trifecta government would prioritize should they take power next year. The director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusions, Sesha Joi Moon, said in a statement to CNN that her office had been defunded as part of the annual spending deal. “On behalf of ODI, it has been an honor to help ensure that the United States Congress embodied a qualified and representative workforce that reflected the country’s vast tapestry,” Ms. Moon said. “We would like to thank the Office of the Speaker of the House, Office of the House Democratic Leader, and Committee on House Administration, as well as the entire House community for their support throughout the 116th, 117th, and 118th Congresses.”Speaker Pelosi established the office in March 2020, just days before President Trump declared a national emergency for what would become the Covid pandemic. Ms. Pelosi said at the time that the Office of Diversity and Inclusion would “accelerate Democrats’ work to ensure that the halls of Congress reflect the diversity and dynamism of the American people whom we are honored to represent.”According to the office’s website, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion employed ten full-time staff members, including Ms. Moon. The Senate does not have its own diversity and inclusion office. “The mission of ODI is to help employing offices create and cultivate a congressional workforce within [the House] that is reflective of the American people,” the website states. The office envisioned serving as an essential resource in helping to advance representation in the congressional workforce by delivering optimal services to the House community.”According to the event calendar on the office’s website, they frequently hosted resume drafting sessions and mock interviews, as well as events celebrating Black, Hispanic, Asian, and veteran communities. Republicans attempted to defund the Office for Diversity and Inclusion last year when they were going through the normal process of writing their spending bills before Speaker McCarthy was removed. The chairman of the subcommittee that deals with legislative branch spending, Congressman Mark Amodei, said at the time that defunding the diversity office was a priority for House Republicans. He said that hiring practices of House offices should be handled by each individual member. “While the office is being eliminated, the functions of the office will continue to be performed in a more efficient and cost-effective manner, without focusing on identity politics,” he said in a statement at the time. Congressman Alex Mooney introduced his own bill to defund the Office of Diversity and Inclusion after House Republicans voted to defund the same kind of diversity, equity, and inclusion office at the Pentagon, saying that the House “should abide by the same standards we set for federal agencies across the government.”Republican state legislatures across the country have taken aim at these same kinds of DEI offices at public institutions. Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Utah have all defunded DEI offices at public institutions, including colleges and universities. Similar legislation has been introduced in state legislative chambers in dozens of other states.

Congress Disbands House’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion as Part of Yearly Funding Deal

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