Committee chairman Jim Jordan cited what he called ’the FBI’s hyper-fixation on hitting Biden Administration-imposed DEI initiatives.’
The House Judiciary Committee has launched an inquiry into the FBI’s hiring practices involving diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
In a
letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray, dated May 6, committee chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) raised concerns that lowering recruitment standards due to DEI initiatives has resulted in hiring unqualified candidates for the bureau, posing potential national security threats.
Mr. Jordan said since the bureau implemented President Joe Biden’s executive order promoting DEI initiatives, the FBI has struggled to recruit qualified applicants. “This is likely due to the FBI re-focusing its recruitment efforts on DEI statistics,” the letter reads.
“The FBI’s hyper-fixation on hitting Biden Administration-imposed DEI initiatives, rather than qualifications that make the best federal law enforcement candidates and officers, has created a climate within the FBI that puts the American public and American civil liberties at risk,” Mr. Jordan said in a
press release. “By turning away quality candidates in the name of DEI, the public’s lack of confidence in the FBI’s ability to execute its mission in an impartial and competent manner continues to deteriorate.”
In the letter, Mr. Jordan referenced an October 2023 report by a group of retired FBI special agents and analysts alleging that the bureau no longer hires “the best and brightest” for the special agent position, leading to a degradation in its law enforcement and intelligence capabilities.
The
report, disclosed earlier this year, alleged that the DEI requirements have compromised standards in areas such as physical fitness, illicit drug use, financial and personal integrity, mental health, and work experience. It cited instances of new agents failing to meet even relaxed fitness standards, displaying literacy issues requiring remedial English lessons, showing reluctance to work overtime, and even having serious disabilities or mental health concerns.
The report suggested a series of corrective actions, including performing a 90-day audit of FBI recruitment practices, legislation to strengthen the oath of office for FBI special agents, and congressional testimony by FBI Director Christopher Wray to address potential concealment of deficiencies or misinformation by subordinates.
The letter cited the report’s statement that the number of special agents being hired has decreased, “likely due to the decline in the Nation’s trust in the FBI and a corresponding decrease in the number of individuals interested in applying to the FBI for employment.”
From the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, Mr. Jordan noted, the FBI had more than 100,000 applications on file at any given time for the special agent position; however, now it has only around 48,000 applications for the same role.
Mr. Jordan then requested that the FBI provide information, including the number of special agents hired, data on special agents recruitment and selection, and communication regarding the agency’s implementation of the DEI executive order. The committee also asked for documents related to rewards, incentives, and promotional considerations given to FBI senior executive service managers for achieving DEI recruitment goals.
DEI in Military
This is not the first time lawmakers have raised concerns about DEI initiatives that might pose national security risks. In April, Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) sent a
letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, requesting information on the impact of the DEI hiring in the U.S. military.
Last year, during a
hearing before a House Armed Forces Committee sub-panel, three U.S. military service academy superintendents faced intense questioning regarding the DEI curriculum in their academies.
“I’m deeply concerned with the path our military service academies are on, particularly if they continue to violate the Constitution and use race as a factor in admissions,” said Mr. Banks, who chairs the Military Personnel Subcommittee of the House Armed Forces Committee. “I’m also concerned about the future success of our cadets and midshipmen considering the focus on divisive diversity programs that elevate the importance of identity over that of duty, honor, and service.”
In March, Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.)
condemned DEI initiatives in the military when discussing government funding bills. “Our military is grappling with the Biden administration’s social experiments of integrating principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion into their ranks to the detriment of our armed forces,” he said in a statement.
Last month, Ron Scott, president and CEO of Stand Together Against Racism and Radicalism in the Services, a veterans advocacy group opposing progressive ideology in the military,
told The Epoch Times that DEI-based promotions have a “huge, negative effect on morale.”
Tom Ozimek and J.M. Phelps contributed to this report.
