Even before he takes office on Monday, President-elect Donald Trump appears to be keeping a campaign promise to take on the deep state, calling out alleged corruption at the now-shuttered DEI office at the FBI.
On Thursday, the FBI confirmed to Fox News that its DEI office had closed sometime last month. “In recent weeks, the FBI took steps to close the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI), effective by December 2024,” the agency told the outlet in a statement.
Just hours after Fox News reported the closure, Trump took to social media to accuse the FBI of wrongdoing in connection with the former DEI office.
“We demand that the FBI preserve and retain all records, documents, and information on the now closing DEI Office — Never should have been opened and, if it was, should have closed long ago,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“Why is it that they’re closing one day before the Inauguration of a new Administration? The reason is, CORRUPTION!”
Trump did not elaborate on the kind of corruption he believes occurred in the DEI division.
The FBI DEI office actually opened in 2012 under President Barack Obama, pledging to provide “guidance and implement programs that promote a diverse and inclusive workplace that allows all employees to succeed and advance.”
Fox News reported that as of Thursday, the webpage for the FBI DEI office remained active. While an internet search did yield a “Diversity & Inclusion” page at the FBI website, clicking on the link took Blaze News to the FBI homepage. An archived version of the webpage from December 19, 2024, is still accessible.
‘The FBI should be focused on catching criminals, not winning participation trophies.’
Democrats’ poor showing in the 2024 election suggested that Americans have rejected many leftist narratives, including those regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion. Then, the terrorist attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day further highlighted the danger of federal agents focusing on identity politics instead of hunting down bad guys.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) sent a scathing letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray earlier this month, suggesting that his agency’s “radical” fixation on DEI led to the New Orleans massacre.
“Americans now feel increasingly unsafe because of incidents like the January 1 terror attack, and the FBI’s prioritization of diversity over competence shows that their concerns are well founded,” she wrote.
According to Blackburn, “the law enforcement and intelligence capabilities of the FBI are degrading because the FBI is no longer hiring ‘the best and the brightest’ candidates.” Instead, the agency “has settled for lower quality candidates to satisfy DEI mandates.”
“The FBI should be focused on catching criminals, not winning participation trophies.”
Trump has tapped Kash Patel, who promised to take a wrecking ball to the deep state, to lead the FBI, now that Wray is stepping down. In early December, rumors swirled that members of the FBI DEI office would quit should Patel be confirmed.
“Promise?” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) joked in response.
Some House Republicans have already voiced support for Patel’s anti-deep-state mission. Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) told Politico that the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which he chairs, “will assist” those efforts “in any way possible.”
“[Patel] and I are fixing to meet because with respect to him, they need to hold some people accountable for a cover-up,” Comer said.
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