Last Thursday, West Virginia GOP Representative Alex Mooney, who is currently running for Senate hoping to replace Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), introduced H.Res 628, a bill “that would eliminate the House of Representatives’ Office of Diversity and Inclusion.”
Thirteen other Congressional Republicans signed on as original co-sponsors of H.Res. 628, and there were “no Democratic co-sponsors.” After the legislation was introduced, it was “[r]eferred to the Committee on Rules, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration.”
This is the latest move by conservatives who have been tirelessly working to eliminate Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) “offices around the nation, with some limiting schools from being able to promote programs on DEI efforts or in their hiring practices.”
In a press release, Mooney’s office said “When House Democrats took back the majority from Republicans in 2019, they created the House Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) offices have become the latest woke liberal method of injecting cultural Marxism into the workplace.”
The statement continues, “These offices start with the premise that white people are inheritably racist and oppressive. The House of Representatives does not need bureaucrats promoting this divisive ideology.”
But this bill’s introduction comes on the heels of the Republican Party’s latest gaffe around race. Just two weeks ago, during a House floor debate, Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ) said, “My amendment has nothing to do with whether or not colored people or Black people or anybody can serve…The military was never intended to be, you know, inclusive.”
Afterward Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV) said, “They’re proving every single day why diversity, equity and inclusion is needed,” telling reporters, “I would encourage them to contact the Office of Diversity here at the U.S. Capitol and benefit from the training and the resources that they have.”
Mooney’s bill was introduced after the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which eliminated the Pentagon’s DEI offices.
As Congressman Alex Mooney stated, “The House voted to eliminate all diversity and inclusion offices at the Pentagon in the National Defense Authorization Act. The House should abide by the same standards we set for federal agencies across the government, which is why I have introduced this resolution to eliminate the House Office of Diversity and Inclusion.”
The House Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) released a statement, which “emphasized that it is a nonpartisan and nonlegislative office.”
Sesha Joi Moon, Director of the ODI, said “Currently, ODI, which maintains relationships on both sides of the aisle, remains committed to its mission to advance a representative and qualified workforce by ‘putting the people in the people’s house.'”
Moon continued, “As for the future of ODI, our office, which currently consists of 12 employees, will of course comply with any forthcoming legislation and directives from leadership.”