House Democrat Spots Exactly What Republicans ‘Want You To Believe’ By Dismantling DEI

Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) slammed “shameful” Republicans on Wednesday for their support of the “Dismantle DEI Act,” a bill that falls in line with right-wing attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

“Contrary to Republican conjecture, remedying past discrimination is not, in turn, a discrimination,” said Lee in remarks at a House Oversight Committee meeting.

“And we’re not going to sit here and pretend racism is over just because one Black person on the Supreme Court agreed that it should be.”

The bill — introduced by Rep. Michael Cloud (R-Texas) — looks to “abolish” all federal DEI offices and eliminate funding for federal DEI programs, as well, according to a House Oversight Committee press release.

Conservatives have turned the term “DEI hire” as a racist dog whistle to attack candidates seeking government positions and call their qualifications into questions.

Lee noted that Republicans are trying to “bastardize” the term to be a “slur,” noting that Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and Vice President Kamala Harris have been called “DEI hires” in recent years.

“They want you to believe that Harvard graduate with over 20 years of experience is not qualified but a Fox personality is qualified to run the Department of Defense and a WWE executive is qualified to run the Department of Education,” said Lee, referring to Pete Hegseth and Linda McMahon.

She continued, “Let’s be real. There is an attempt to create a direct correlation between our race, being a Black person and our qualifications. So much as to say there is no way to be a Black woman, there is no résumé a Black person could have that would qualify them unless that Black person is a Republican and there is a quota there.”

Lee declared that similar “discriminatory treatment” is happening on “every single level” of government and private sector, adding that workers often turn to DEI programs to give them “recourse.”

“My Republican colleagues have got to stop punching down on already marginalized communities and face their own fears of a level playing field privately. It’s shameful,” Lee said.