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House subcommittee hearing features sharp disagreement over diversity, equity and inclusion policies
Summary
A House Oversight subcommittee hearing on DEI drew sharply divergent testimony on whether DEI is lawful or harmful, with witnesses and members citing Supreme Court rulings, federal executive orders and studies while exchanging sharply different accounts of DEI's effects on workplaces, campuses and government programs.
Chairman Grothman opened a House Oversight subcommittee hearing saying the session would "focus on the destructive diversity, equity, and inclusion or DEI policies" and framed the inquiry as tracing modern DEI back to affirmative-action policies and Executive Order 11246, first issued in 1965.
The hearing brought competing views on whether DEI is lawful, whether it helps or harms people and institutions, and whether federal policy should promote or restrict DEI programs. Supporters said DEI addresses long-standing disparities in health, education and employment; critics said DEI substitutes racial balancing for colorblind law and open markets.
Why this matters: Members of this oversight subcommittee, whose jurisdiction includes health care and financial services, debated whether DEI belongs on its agenda while witnesses advocated policy changes ranging from stronger enforcement of civil-rights laws to ending race- and sex-based contracting preferences.
The witnesses delivered sharply different…
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