A Texas mayor was caught on video using disturbing language berating a Christian preacher at a LGBT festival, video shows.
Jim Ross, the mayor of Arlington, Texas, targeted the preacher during a 2023 LGBT event. The shocking moments were captured by Vice, though Ross&#8217;s face is blurred and the footage has just now been <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/exclusive-arlington-mayor-jim-ross-200000969.html">uncovered</a> by The Dallas Express.
Ross claims he&#8217;s a moderate, but routinely <a href="https://www.keranews.org/politics/2023-04-05/arlington-candidates-tackle-dei-issues-transportation-development-in-naacp-forum">pushes</a> race-based and gender-based initiatives and has promoted LGBT &#8220;pride.&#8221;
“I believe y’all can have free speech. But this is some hateful s*** and I am a heterosexual guy,&#8221; Ross says in the footage, speaking to preacher Ruben Israel, who has since passed away.
“You stand out here like you are a b*da** motherf***er,” the mayor continued. “You don’t think anal sex is good, do you? Have you ever f***ed your old lady in the a**? I’d f*** your old lady in the a**.”
Ross was not done, however. He called Israel a &#8220;p**** mother***er&#8221; and told him, “Shut your a**, shut your a**, you little piece of s***. You ought to talk s***, these people around here are having a good f***ing time.”
At the time of the confrontation, Ross was serving as mayor of Arlington, and currently holds the same position.
Tarrant County GOP Chairman Bo French said Ross needs to resign &#8220;immediately&#8221; over the conduct.
Tarrant County Republican Precinct Chair TK Campbell, also speaking to The Dallas Express, said Ross&#8217;s unprofessional behavior mirrors that of prominent Democrats, who&#8217;ve clung to cursing as an apparent political strategy.
“The now Mayor of Arlington’s vile, profanity-laced rant at the late Ruben Israel, a Christian street preacher, is a disgrace,&#8221; Campbell said. &#8220;Perhaps the mayor was stressed out because of not being able to pay his taxes of late, but his unprofessional conduct mirrors the worst of today’s cursing Democrats. Leadership demands better.&#8221;
Campbell&#8217;s comments regarding taxes seem to reference Ross recently having his wages garnished by the IRS. <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/arlington-mayor-acknowledges-irs-garnishment-160013005.html">According</a> to The Dallas Express, Ross owes $940.39 in penalties and interest and has an outstanding debt of about $175,000.
During his tenure as mayor, Ross has created advisory councils based on race, religion, and identity, including black, Asian, Latino, Muslim, and LGBTQ.
In 2023, Ross defended the forums during an NAACP event. “You have to have a black advisory council because, folks, black people are not the same. Did y’all know that?” he said, <a href="https://www.keranews.org/politics/2023-04-05/arlington-candidates-tackle-dei-issues-transportation-development-in-naacp-forum">according</a> to KERA News. “Latinos are not the same. Asians are not the same.”
WARNING: Language 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
🚨BOMBSHELL🚨 Newly surfaced footage identifies Texas Arlington Mayor Jim Ross at an LGBTQ festival telling a Christian preacher: “I’d f*ck your old lady in the *ss.” Ross used vulgar language and made explicit remarks
Read article👇.
Follow: <a href="https://twitter.com/DallasExpress?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dallasexpress</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Carlos__Turcios?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Carlos__Turcios</a> <a href="https://t.co/IzagUbFqb5">pic.twitter.com/IzagUbFqb5</a>
— Carlos Turcios (@Carlos__Turcios) <a href="https://twitter.com/Carlos__Turcios/status/1953919764616638727?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 8, 2025</a></blockquote>

Mayor Jim Ross

‘I’d F*** Your Old Lady In The A**’: Liberal Mayor Berates Christian At LGBT Festival

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

LGBTQ

Politics

Pride

A decades-old court order that blocked the federal government from using tests to measure job applicants&#8217; skills was terminated by a D.C. judge on Friday, setting the stage for an overhaul of the federal workforce that could be one of President Donald Trump&#8217;s most lasting achievements.
In 1981, Angel Luevano sued the federal government over the Professional and Administrative Career Examination, a test that helped identify the best and brightest out of the tens of thousands who apply for government jobs each year. Luevano argued that the test kept too many blacks and Hispanics out of government, and, in the waning days of President Jimmy Carter&#8217;s administration, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) agreed to pause the test for five years.
Forty-four years later, the &#8220;Luevano Consent Decree&#8221; was somehow still intact. In January, the Trump administration filed a brief <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/feds-cant-hire-for-competence-because-jimmy-carter-said-it-was-racist-trump-wants-to-fix-that">challenging the agreement</a> — a feat which required reopening a decades-closed court case in which the original judge had died. The administration argued that it was doubtful the decree was ever appropriate, and that, with Supreme Court case law outlawing affirmative action, it was certainly not now.
Angel Luevano is still alive, and agreed to terminate the consent decree, <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69731384/luevano-v-director-office-of-personnel-management/">court papers</a> show. Luevano was represented by lawyers from Hispanic and black civil rights groups, two of whom did not return a request for comment.
For almost half a century, the federal government has operated like a college that didn&#8217;t look at SAT scores when admitting students. Rescinding the Luevano Consent Decree could take the government from safety-school status to Ivy League.
&#8220;We&#8217;re making civil service great again,&#8221; OPM Director Scott Kupor told The Daily Wire Friday.
The move opens the door to technocratic hiring assessments that allow the government to hire applicants who objectively demonstrate the most aptitude. Kupor told The Daily Wire in an interview that the move means Americans may start getting better service at government agencies, with government being more helpful and responsive.
&#8220;The lasting opportunity here is: can we change the culture of the workforce in the federal government? Can we make it a high-performance culture? That will definitely be the president&#8217;s legacy, if we can make that successful,&#8221; he said.
After the demise of the Professional and Administrative Career Examination and similar tests, the government began relying on &#8220;self-assessments&#8221; to sift through job applicants, as it was the only measure that saw a sufficient number of minorities enter government. Applicants simply declared how good they were at a task, with no attempt to verify it or compare them to other applicants. That led to a hiring process that rewarded boasting and fabrications as much as merit.
Kupor said the de facto prohibition on government checking people&#8217;s competency before hiring them had become crippling in the modern age, with people using artificial intelligence or simply copy-and-paste to take a job advertisement&#8217;s requirements and send an application asserting that they had all those skills.
The inability to use objective measures to sort the most qualified applicants from a large pool — as virtually all other large employers do — has profoundly impacted the caliber of government employees. The Luevano Consent Decree was perhaps one of the largest applications ever of the philosophy known as &#8220;disparate impact,&#8221; which holds that anything that produces racially unbalanced outcomes must inherently be racist. But the fallout went beyond just minorities, leaving little way to differentiate a brilliant white job applicant from an incompetent white applicant.
The government was represented by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Department of Justice&#8217;s Civil Rights Division.
OPM General Counsel Andrew Kloster told The Daily Wire in an interview that the government did not make any concessions to reach the agreement. &#8220;They just flat out agreed,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It would not have happened without the original named plaintiff agreeing to it and the judge agreeing to accept it.&#8221;
&#8220;This is really kind of an understanding that disparate impact as a way to measure things is not the law of the land anymore. You have to actually show real discrimination. The explicit argument was that the objective tests themselves were racially biased, and obviously that&#8217;s bogus.&#8221;
It is yet to be decided whether OPM will institute a general aptitude test across agencies. But many specific job categories are likely to have their own tests. If the government is hiring, say, computer programmers, it won&#8217;t simply ask them how good they are at a programming language. Instead, it will administer a coding test to rank applicants on a uniform scale.
The hiring process used by government agencies for decades resulted in hiring that was, at best, random, and at worst, allowed the sort of cronyism and favoritism that the consent decree was supposed to avoid, Kupor said.
&#8220;We&#8217;re going to be able to attract really, really good people, because they&#8217;re going to be fairly tested for their merit,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It also really does eliminate a lot of potential for a bias in the hiring process if you actually use objective standards.&#8221;
&#8220;This is a win for fairness, as well as a win for getting American people the ability to get people with the appropriate skills into the right jobs.&#8221;

Scott Kupor And Eric Matthew Ueland Testify In Their Senate Nomination Hearing

For The First Time In 40 Years, The Federal Government Can Judge Applicants By Merit

Donald Trump

Federal Government

federal workforce

Jimmy Carter

Office of Personnel Management

Racial Bias

Racism

University of Iowa administrator Cory Lockwood was caught on camera admitting that the university has not stopped its work in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) space, but instead has changed the terminology around it.
Townhall released undercover video of Lockwood talking about how the state legislature — in accordance with President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration and its agenda — had attempted to put an end to DEI in education. He explained that the school was continuing the work, but had to adopt different words to describe the initiatives in order to protect the funding that was at risk for those who did not comply.
WATCH:
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🚨NEW — Undercover video catches University of Iowa administrator Cory Lockwood ADMITTING to BURYING DEI initiatives so that they&#8217;re hidden from &#8220;that side.&#8221;
&#8220;There&#8217;s DEI work happening. Somebody&#8217;s not gonna have that in their job description because of the State House.&#8221;
&#8220;What… <a href="https://t.co/x37xUsvgui">pic.twitter.com/x37xUsvgui</a>
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/townhallcom/status/1950926125380567453?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 31, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;You won&#8217;t find it by Googling it, because of our state legislature,&#8221; he said of DEI initiatives at the school. &#8220;Governor, State House, they&#8217;re all &lt;sigh&gt; that side, so they&#8217;ve directed the Board of Regents to — I don&#8217;t know if &#8216;eliminate&#8217; is the right word — but stop using the words.&#8221;
Lockwood went on to make it clear the the school was doing what it could to abide by the letter of the law while actively undermining the spirit, saying, &#8220;So you&#8217;ll see words like &#8216;community&#8217; and those types of things, &#8216;belonging,&#8217; &#8216;community,&#8217; all those — we still have cultural centers here. There&#8217;s DEI work happening, I think, you know, somebody&#8217;s not gonna have that in their job description because of the State House.&#8221;
&#8220;Just to be candid, I think what most are worried about is funding, you know, because — state-funded institutions,&#8221; he added.
Townhall released a series of similar videos over the last several weeks, revealing that the same strategy — keeping the DEI initiatives, but hiding them behind relatively benign language — had already been adopted by a number of schools across the United States.

University of Iowa campus scene

‘You Won’t Find It By Googling’: U Of Iowa Official Caught On Camera Admits ‘DEI Work’ Still Happens

'You Won't Find It By Googling': U Of Iowa Official Caught On Camera Admits 'DEI Work' Still Happens

Education

Iowa

Townhall

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, might not have a diversity, equity, and inclusion office anymore, but it’s still pushing DEI goals and flying under the radar in a heavily Republican state, a university department head said in a video obtained by The Daily Wire. 
Casey A. Barrio Minton, Professor and Department Head of Counselor Education, was caught on camera last month saying that Tennessee’s “Access and Engagement” office, which used to be called the “Diversity and Inclusion” office, isn’t “a whole lot different.” 
“They practice DEI?” Barrio Minton was asked in the video.
“They do,” she replied, “And they do many of the same things.” 
“I haven’t noticed a big shift in the programming. I haven’t noticed a big shift of climate on campus beyond trying to ride the waves,” Barrio Minton added. 
President Donald Trump signed an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-illegal-discrimination-and-restoring-merit-based-opportunity/">executive order</a> immediately after he took office in January, calling DEI policies “illegal” and stating, “It is the policy of the United States to protect the civil rights of all Americans and to promote individual initiative, excellence, and hard work.” 
Even though Barrio Minton admitted that the University of Tennessee continues to push DEI, she argued that the school is compliant with federal law. 
“The law essentially says you can’t force DEI training on staff or whatnot. And they also say no student shall be penalized for their failure to subscribe to any of these beliefs, right?” Barrio Minton continued. “So, some people took that to mean you can’t teach about racism or systemic oppression or privilege. That was the interpretation. That’s not what the law says.” 
“The university has been very clear to us: the law says we don’t punish people based on their beliefs, but we don’t punish people. We educate,” she said. 
The professor and department head said that she wasn’t concerned about the federal government going after Tennessee over DEI since the Trump administration has focused on universities in blue states. 
“Most of the fireworks that are happening are happening in very blue areas,” Barrio Minton continued. 
The Trump administration cut nearly $40 million in federal grants handed out to the University of Tennessee, the Knoxville News Sentinel <a href="https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/education/2025/05/09/university-of-tennessee-system-loses-37-65m-in-federal-grants-what-we-know/83463831007/">reported</a> in May. Those cuts were part of the president’s wider spending cuts that affected universities across the country and not due to anything Tennessee did in violation of federal law. 
As an example of how Tennessee continues to focus on DEI, Barrio Minton said the school recently put in “all-inclusive restrooms,” called “All Vol” restrooms — a reference to the school&#8217;s mascot, the Volunteers — for trans-identifying students to use. 
“The inclusive restrooms are ‘All Vol’ restrooms, like a single stall, inclusive, accessible restroom,” she said. 
“Instead of all gender [restrooms]?” she was asked. 
“Yeah. You know, we had a number of trans students, so there became an initiative to convert a small restroom to be an ‘All Vol’ restroom,” Barrio Minton added. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Exclusive video shows a University of Tennessee department head boasting about DEI flying under the radar in a red state. <a href="https://t.co/QHFLx5anit">pic.twitter.com/QHFLx5anit</a>
&mdash; Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/1950212494254862605?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 29, 2025</a></blockquote>
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In response to a Daily Wire inquiry, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, sent a statement from Randy Boyd, the President of the University of Tennessee System, on “Clarifying the Role of Access and Engagement.” 
“The purpose of access and engagement is to support academic access, foster community partnerships and promote merit-based student success. These efforts are directly aligned with our System’s Statement of Aspirations, which commits us to removing barriers to educational opportunity and ensuring every Tennessean has the chance to succeed,” Boyd said. “Let me be clear: access and engagement is not DEI in disguise. All our work must and will remain fully compliant with state and federal law.” 
Boyd added that he has launched an independent review of the Access and Engagement office’s “activities across the UT system.”  
“This review will be prioritized to ensure our ongoing compliance with federal and state laws, as well as adherence to my charge,” the UT System president added. “As an additional measure, we are instituting mandatory training for all employees across the system to ensure that everyone knows the laws and regulations applicable in this space.”
The Daily Wire also reached out to Barrio Minton, requesting comment. 
The department head isn’t the only University of Tennessee staffer to give a glimpse of how the school is pushing DEI. Will Eakin, a coordinator for Tennessee’s Access and Engagement office, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/watch-dei-efforts-were-rebranded-2-red-state-colleges-skirt-trump-orders-staffers-admit">said</a> in a recording obtained by Fox News that they play &#8220;a chess game&#8221; to “make sure that it aligns so that we can do the work that we&#8217;re trying to do, while also catering to the Department of Education.” 
The University of Tennessee is one of numerous colleges across the country under federal <a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-educations-office-civil-rights-sends-letters-60-universities-under-investigation-antisemitic-discrimination-and-harassment">investigation</a> for potential antisemitism and discrimination on campus. 
“The University of Tennessee is currently under investigation by the Department of Education for potential Title VI violations relating to antisemitic harassment and discrimination on campus. We expect all academic institutions that receive taxpayer support to abide by federal law and will continue to vigorously hold violators accountable,” Education Department Press Secretary Savannah Newhouse told The Daily Wire. 
Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn sent a letter to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, last week after video footage showed employees discussing the school’s continued DEI priorities. 
“As a beneficiary of federal funding, UTK has a responsibility to align with the President’s executive order and return to a focus on providing quality education to your students,” Blackburn wrote. 
An administrator at another Tennessee college, Vanderbilt University in Nashville, was also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-video-vanderbilt-administrator-caught-saying-dei-remains-part-of-what-we-do?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=EXCLUSIVE+VIDEO%3A+Vanderbilt+Administrator+Caught+Saying+DEI+Remains+%E2%80%98Part+Of+What+We+Do%E2%80%99">caught on camera</a> discussing how the college pursues DEI goals. 
“All the things that I would say are components of DEI work are part of what we do,” said Vice Provost for Student Affairs and Dean of Students G.L. Black in a video obtained by The Daily Wire and published last week. “Even if we don’t label everything as DEI work.”
After The Daily Wire published its report on Vice Provost Black’s comments, Vanderbilt released a statement, saying that it has hired a law firm to review &#8220;the specific circumstances related to the recordings&#8221; and identify &#8220;steps the university can take to ensure &#8230; all employees act in accordance&#8221; with policies.

University of Tennessee

University Of Tennessee Department Head Boasts Of DEI Flying Under The Radar In Red State

American Universities

Tennessee

Trump Administration

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—A Vanderbilt University administrator was caught on camera admitting that the school is actively pursuing diversity, equity, and inclusion goals in violation of President Donald Trump&#8217;s executive action cracking down on colleges pushing the leftist DEI agenda.
G.L. Black, the Vice Provost for Student Affairs and Dean of Students, said last month that the school remains &#8220;thoughtful around DEI work&#8221; and its &#8220;focus on belonging and building communities and sustaining communities and access and resources,&#8221; according to a video obtained by The Daily Wire.
&#8220;All the things that I would say are components of DEI work are part of what we do,&#8221; Black added. &#8220;Even if we don&#8217;t label everything as DEI work.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Footage obtained by The Daily Wire shows the <a href="https://twitter.com/VanderbiltU?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VanderbiltU</a> Vice Provost for Student Affairs admitting that the university continues to push DEI, &#8220;even if we don&#8217;t label everything as DEI work.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/MZbv8enIgf">pic.twitter.com/MZbv8enIgf</a>
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/1948423032411688999?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 24, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Along with being nationally recognized for its pre-law and business programs, Vanderbilt — located in Nashville, Tennessee — is also a leading medical school, <a href="https://news.vumc.org/2024/03/11/school-of-medicine-in-top-10-in-nih-funding-survey-2/#:~:text=Vanderbilt%20University%20School%20of%20Medicine,of%20the%20last%2010%20years.">receiving</a> hundreds of millions of dollars in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Last year, Vanderbilt ranked 10th in the country in total research support from the NIH.
After taking office in January, President Trump signed multiple executive orders targeting DEI practices in the federal government and at federally funded colleges and universities. In one executive <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-illegal-discrimination-and-restoring-merit-based-opportunity/">order</a>, Trump blasted DEI policies, saying they &#8220;undermine our national unity, as they deny, discredit, and undermine the traditional American values of hard work, excellence, and individual achievement in favor of an unlawful, corrosive, and pernicious identity-based spoils system.&#8221;
Vanderbilt told The Daily Wire that it remains &#8220;fully compliant with all applicable federal and state laws&#8221; and added that it is &#8220;aware of recent covert recordings by external groups on university campuses nationwide.&#8221;
&#8220;Any comments by individual employees that suggest otherwise do not reflect university policy and are being reviewed through appropriate channels,&#8221; the university said.
Vice Provost Black did not return a request to comment from The Daily Wire.
After publication of this article, Vanderbilt released a statement saying that it hired the law firm Baker Donelson, which &#8220;will be tasked with reviewing the specific circumstances related to the recordings and identifying steps the university can take to ensure all employees fully understand the university’s policies and consistently act in accordance.&#8221;
&#8220;The university will review the findings and recommendations of the report and take any appropriate follow-up actions,&#8221; the statement added. &#8220;As part of our protocol, staff involved will step back from regular responsibilities to allow the review to unfold.&#8221;
The Education Department told The Daily Wire that Vanderbilt is already under investigation &#8220;for allegedly engaging in race-exclusionary practices in their graduate programs.&#8221; That <a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/office-civil-rights-initiates-title-vi-investigations-institutions-of-higher-education-0">investigation</a>, which was announced in March, also targets 44 other universities nationwide. The Education Department alleges that Vanderbilt&#8217;s PhD Project, which focuses on providing networking opportunities for PhD students, “limits eligibility based on the race of the participants.”
&#8220;We expect all academic institutions that receive taxpayer support to abide by federal law and will continue to vigorously hold violators accountable,&#8221; the Education Department added.
Another Vanderbilt employee was recently caught on camera saying that the university&#8217;s DEI agenda has remained unchanged, even if the name has changed, Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/watch-dei-efforts-were-rebranded-2-red-state-colleges-skirt-trump-orders-staffers-admit">reported</a>. She said the new names for DEI help &#8220;clue people in.&#8221;
&#8220;At one point, you know, everybody, like different universities, were under investigation for their, like, DEI practices and stuff like that. So, that&#8217;s why I think the naming has changed,&#8221; said Ivie Carmouche, an academic coach at the university&#8217;s Center for Student Wellbeing.
&#8220;We&#8217;re in the Center for Student Wellbeing — like I said, we have things that clue people in and let people know that this is a safe space for everybody,&#8221; she added. &#8220;Belonging and Communities is like as close to that DEI work you can probably get. Previously, they were the Center for Social Justice and Identities.&#8221;
Yet another Vanderbilt employee was recently caught discussing the school&#8217;s DEI policies and ripping Republican Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn.
&#8220;We have this one, gosh I think she&#8217;s a representative or something like that, and I just heard that she may run for governor. And I&#8217;m going, oh God, help us,&#8221; said Janet Roberts, Vanderbilt&#8217;s Peabody Facilities Manager. &#8220;She&#8217;s ridiculous.&#8221;
&#8220;We are heavily supported by federal funding &#8230; we&#8217;re not advertising diversity and inclusion lectures,&#8221; Roberts added. &#8220;We&#8217;re flying under the radar.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
🚨BUSTED: <a href="https://twitter.com/VanderbiltU?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VanderbiltU</a>&#39;s Janet Roberts was CAUGHT ON CAMERA disparaging Sen. Marsha Blackburn and hiding the school&#39;s DEI practices. 
&quot;God help us&#8230;[<a href="https://twitter.com/MarshaBlackburn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MarshaBlackburn</a>&#39;s] ridiculous&quot;
&quot;We are heavily supported by federal funding&#8230;[so] we&#39;re not advertising diversity and… <a href="https://t.co/CIxV6FCrwe">pic.twitter.com/CIxV6FCrwe</a>
&mdash; Townhall.com (@townhallcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/townhallcom/status/1948057680871886969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 23, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Blackburn on Wednesday wrote to Vanderbilt University Chancellor Dr. Daniel Diermeier to express her &#8220;concern regarding reports that Vanderbilt University is concealing its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs instead of fully complying with President Trump’s executive action to end wasteful DEI programs in educational institutions,&#8221; The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-blackburn-warns-tennessee-universities-against-hiding-dei-programs-behind-coded-language">reported</a>.
&#8220;Renaming woke DEI programs to circumvent compliance and public scrutiny degrades the educational experience of your students and the trust placed in institutions of higher education like Vanderbilt,&#8221; Blackburn added. &#8220;As a beneficiary of federal funding, Vanderbilt has a responsibility to align with the President’s executive order and return to a focus on providing quality education to your students. Instead of rebranding harmful, woke DEI initiatives, woke DEI initiatives, Vanderbilt should focus on the important work of research and workforce development that the institution does so well.&#8221;
Administrators at two other Tennessee universities, the <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/watch-dei-efforts-were-rebranded-2-red-state-colleges-skirt-trump-orders-staffers-admit">University of Tennessee</a> and <a href="https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2025/07/16/belmont-university-is-hiding-illegal-aliens-on-campus-n2659728">Belmont University</a>, were recently caught on camera discussing their respective institutions&#8217; DEI goals.
This article has been updated to include an additional statement from Vanderbilt.

Vanderbilt

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Vanderbilt Administrator Caught Saying DEI Remains ‘Part Of What We Do’

Department of Education

Nashville

Universities

Vanderbilt University

During his four years in office, the former Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigieg, reportedly oversaw a department that spent more than $80 billion on grants for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
That total represented “at least half of the DOT’s entire budget for a typical fiscal year,” <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/07/21/us-news/pete-buttigiegs-dot-spent-80-billion-on-dei-grants-delayed-air-traffic-control-upgrades-records-industry-insiders/">The New York Post</a> reported.
Sources told the Post that at a meeting, Buttigieg told an airline industry executive that improving existing air traffic control would simply increase air traffic, “and so why would that be in his interest?” sources said.
“He was definitely pushing an agenda,&#8221; one air industry official told the Post, adding that Buttigieg had “little to no interest” and took “definitely zero action” for bringing air traffic control up-to-date.
In February 2023, on the same day a FedEx cargo plane almost crashed into a Southwest Airlines plane in Austin, Texas, Buttigieg posted a video to celebrate “Transit Equity Day.”
“Transit is not just about getting from A to B, it’s about reaching jobs, education, health care, and so much more,” Buttigieg wrote on X. “On this Transit Equity Day, we reinforce our commitment to transportation systems that serve those who count on them the most. Transit is not just about getting from A to B, it’s about reaching jobs, education, health care, and so much more.”
That same month, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy ripped the Federal Aviation Administration, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/15/buttigieg-airline-faa-billy-nolen-00087176">saying, </a>“We’ve essentially given you the road map on how to improve safety. &#8230; Too often we’ve seen the federal government and industry act after an incident, after lives are lost, once headlines are made. Our entire mission at the NTSB is to prevent that next accident.”
In August 2023, Buttigieg’s DOT announced the appointment of 24 members to the Advisory Committee on Transportation Equity (ACTE). “They include experts in community engagement, transportation planning, design, research, policy, advocacy, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA),” the Department of Transportation <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/secretary-buttigieg-appoints-members-advisory-committee-transportation-equity-acte">wrote</a>.
In February 2025, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated, “Effective immediately, the Department of Transportation will no longer participate in celebrations based on immutable traits or any other identity-based observances. These distractions do nothing to keep planes in the air, trains on the tracks, or ports and highways secure.”
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Effective immediately, the Department of Transportation will no longer participate in celebrations based on immutable traits or any other identity-based observances. These distractions do nothing to keep planes in the air, trains on the tracks, or ports and highways secure. In…
&mdash; Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecDuffy/status/1885855599390245367?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Indiana v Notre Dame – Playoff First Round

Transportation Took A Back Seat As Buttigieg Pushed $80 Billion DEI Agenda

Department of Transportation

Pete Buttigieg

Transportation

Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic socialist candidate for mayor of New York, said on Thursday that he understood economics better than billionaire Bill Ackman, arguing that Ackman’s opposition to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies was bad for business.
In the wake of Mamdani’s victory Tuesday night in the Democratic primary over former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Ackman had stated of Mamdani on X:
<blockquote>
 &#8230; his policies would be disastrous for NYC. Socialism has no place in the economic capital of our country. The ability for NYC to offer services for the poor and needy, let alone the average New Yorker, is entirely dependent on NYC being a business-friendly environment and a place where wealthy residents are willing to spend 183 days and assume the associated tax burden. Unfortunately, both have already started making arrangements for the exits.
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I awoke this morning gravely concerned about New York City. I thought “What has NYC become that an avowed socialist who has supported defunding the police, whose solution to lowering food prices is city-owned supermarkets, who doesn’t understand that freezing rents will only…
&mdash; Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) <a href="https://twitter.com/BillAckman/status/1938094628034506984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Asked by Erin Burnett of CNN about his insistence that New York City raise the top corporate tax rate, Mamdani preached, “I&#8217;d also tell Bill Ackman that I firmly disagree with his attempt to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion across the country because it&#8217;s not only against the morals of so many, it&#8217;s also against the actual bottom line for so many businesses. And as a businessman, he should understand that.”
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Socialist Zohran Mamdani lectures billionaire <a href="https://twitter.com/BillAckman?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BillAckman</a> on the business case for DEI.
Oh, this is rich.
“I’d also tell Bill Ackman that I firmly disagree with his attempt to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion across the country. Because it’s not only against the morals… <a href="https://t.co/az5x2XOjaH">pic.twitter.com/az5x2XOjaH</a>
&mdash; The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) <a href="https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1938421381789577432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 27, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Mamdani, 33, a state assemblyman who grew up the privileged son of “acclaimed Marxist scholar Mahmood Mamdani and Oscar-nominated film director Mira Nair,” as The Indypendent <a href="https://indypendent.org/2020/06/home-foreclosure-specialist-aims-to-take-the-fight-for-housing-racial-justice-from-astoria-to-albany/">reported</a>, attended Bowdoin College, where he <a href="https://nyassembly.gov/mem/Zohran-K-Mamdani">co-founded</a> the school&#8217;s chapter of the radical activist group, Students for Justice in Palestine. His entire job history outside of politics has consisted of working as a foreclosure prevention counselor and a rapper.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/freedom/">JULY 4 SALE: Get Six Months Of DW+ Free</a>
Ackman, by contrast, has invested in businesses so successfully that he is now <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/william-ackman/">worth</a> an estimated $9 billion. He is a signatory of The Giving Pledge, committing to donate at least 50% of his wealth by the end of his life to charitable causes. The resident of New York City was a lifelong Democrat who crossed the aisle to support President Donald Trump in the 2024 election.
New York Democratic Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent this mayoral election cycle, slammed Mamdani, <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/06/26/us-news/eric-adams-officially-kicks-off-nyc-mayoral-campaign-with-swipes-at-zohran-mamdani-blue-collar-or-silver-spoon/">saying</a>, “This election is a choice between a candidate with a blue collar and one with a soup silver spoon. A choice between dirty fingernails and manicured nails. &#8230; This is not a city where you use idealism to stake your giving everything to everyone for free. There&#8217;s no dignity in someone giving you everything for free. There&#8217;s dignity in giving you a job so you can provide for your family and the opportunities that you deserve. So, this is not a city of handouts. This is a city of hands up.”
Mamdani also issued a statement blasting President Trump, stating, “Zohran Mamdani will fight Trump&#8217;s attempts to gouge the working class, and deliver a city where everyone can afford a dignified life. Here&#8217;s how: Make NYC the Strongest Sanctuary City in the Country.”
After asserting his desire to “Get ICE out of all City facilities and end any cooperation,” the statement continued, “The Mamdani administration will:  Invest $165M in funding for immigration legal defense services . &#8230; Protect all personal data from other jurisdictions: The Mamdani administration will take seriously the threat Trump poses and will think expansively about ways to protect undocumented New Yorkers from deportation or other federal attacks.”
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BREAKING: This is the memo that could be Zohran Mamdani’s downfall.
He wants to triple down on making NYC a Sanctuary City and crack down on ICE.
These two policies are extremely unpopular with New Yorkers, especially the middle class. <a href="https://t.co/EuvdjFUyhH">pic.twitter.com/EuvdjFUyhH</a>
&mdash; Douglass Mackey (@DougMackeyCase) <a href="https://twitter.com/DougMackeyCase/status/1938235458607018356?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Other actions by Mamdani have also elicited harsh criticism:
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Remember back in 2013 when two Islamist terrorists used a meat cleaver to try to behead British soldier Lee Rigby in the streets of London?
Zohran shared a 2013 article by Glenn Greenwald questioning whether the killing was terrorism because Rigby was a soldier <a href="https://t.co/F5eMdFQo9i">pic.twitter.com/F5eMdFQo9i</a>
&mdash; Drew Pavlou 🇦🇺🇺🇸🇺🇦🇹🇼 (@DrewPavlou) <a href="https://twitter.com/DrewPavlou/status/1938506747939066063?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 27, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

Mamdani/Ackman

Socialist NYC Mayoral Candidate Lectures Billionaire, Claims DEI Critics Don’t Understand Business

Bill Ackman

Democratic Socialism

Elections

Eric Adams

New York

New York City

Socialism

Socialists

Zohran Mamdani

The nation&#8217;s largest teachers union imposes racial quotas for its board and leadership, designating a portion of its roles for those who qualify as an “ethnic minority,” a report from Defending Education, exclusively obtained by The Daily Wire, reveals.
The National Education Association (NEA), which <a href="https://www.nea.org/">calls itself</a> “the nation&#8217;s largest professional employee organization,” stipulates in its constitution that various boards and committees are required to have a specific proportion of “ethnic minority” members, and that elections can be held for certain positions with the specific intent “to elect a member of an ethnic-minority group.” The NEA’s <a href="https://defendinged.org/investigations/teachers-unions-bylaws-bipoc-delegates-and-reps/">bylaws</a> spell out those who qualify as ethnic minorities, listing all racial categories other than whites.
“Ethnic minorities shall comprise at least twenty (20) percent of the Board,” the NEA constitution reads, adding that the “Representative Assembly shall elect additional directors as appropriate to assure such ethnic-minority representation.”
“There shall be a minimum of twenty percent ethnic minority representation on each committee,” the NEA constitution goes on to say. The organization’s constitution also stipulates that, if the NEA has had white presidents for eleven consecutive years, then “the Association shall take such steps as may be legally permissible to elect a member of an ethnic-minority group.”
While the NEA focuses on imposing its racial agenda, it has presided over a decline in educational outcomes, Defending Education Director of Outreach Erika Sanzi told The Daily Wire.
&#8220;The NEA has become a race-obsessed organization, and these racial quotas written into their constitutions and bylaws provide further evidence of how far they&#8217;ve fallen,” Sanzi charged. “It has become an ideological project for them, and it&#8217;s no surprise that educational outcomes continue to decline as the largest teachers union in the country become more and more extreme.”
This focus on DEI isn’t relegated to NEA itself, however. The organization’s affiliate groups across the country similarly maintain specific positions that can only be held by members of certain racial and ethnic groups.
The California Teachers Association, an affiliate of the NEA, limits certain elected representative positions within the organization to those who identify as “BIPOC,” an acronym that stands for “black, indigenous, people of color.” Those running for the organization’s at-large position “must be BIPOC,” the group’s <a href="https://defendinged.org/investigations/teachers-unions-bylaws-bipoc-delegates-and-reps/">election manual</a> states.
“NEA policy requires that each state include BIPOC delegates in numbers commensurate with the population of the state,” the manual adds.
The Massachusetts Teachers Association, another NEA affiliate, similarly disqualifies white people from holding certain elected positions on account of their race. The organization’s board of directors <a href="https://defendinged.org/investigations/teachers-unions-bylaws-bipoc-delegates-and-reps/">reserves a spot</a> for an “At-Large Director for Ethnic Minority Membership,” noting that the term is used to refer to those who are “American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, Black, Hispanic, and Cape Verdean.”
There’s also the Michigan Education Association, which <a href="https://mea.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/M-3-MEA-PAC-Policies-May-2024-pending-RA-and-Board-approval.pdf">stipulates</a> that the governing board of its political action council must include “two (2) members who identify as Black, Indigenous or a Person of Color (BIPOC).”
Defending Education points out that these race-based policies have become commonplace in other organizations across the country, noting that at least 36 teachers union organizations, from Wyoming to Mississippi, reserve positions on boards or committees for those who qualify as &#8220;BIPOC.&#8221;
The NEA and its state affiliates did not return requests for comment.

NEA Speaker

EXCLUSIVE: Teachers Unions Across America Have Racial Quotas For Leadership Roles

DEIA

National Education Association

school

Teachers Unions

A leftwing group dedicated to dismantling “structural racism” in finance has raked in millions of dollars in federal grants. But now its federal funding and non-profit status could be in jeopardy, as the group discriminates against white internship applicants in violation of President Donald Trump’s executive order.
The North Carolina-based Croatan Institute touts its allegiance to the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) agenda on its website, promising to tackle “structural racism in finance” even as it imposed race-based selection criteria on its paid internship program. The program appears to violate President Trump’s <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-illegal-discrimination-and-restoring-merit-based-opportunity/">executive order</a> barring DEI policies and discrimination among federal grant recipients.
Now, a legal expert tells The Daily Wire that the program jeopardizes the federal funds currently en route to the organization, as well as any future funds that the Croatan Institute might hope to garner.
The Croatan Institute <a href="https://croataninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/BLAISE-1-Pager.pdf">boasts</a> the BLAISE internship program, which stands for &#8220;BIPOC Leaders Advancing an Inclusive and Sustainable Economy.&#8221; The program seeks to increase the representation of specific demographic groups in the financial industry.
The internship program’s eligibility requirements detail the race-based selection process. “Priority given to students of color or first-generation students from underserved communities,” the site reads. The group attempts to justify its racial preferences by writing that “in the world of finance, there is a dearth of people of color.”
The program could land the Croatan Institute in hot water, Heritage Foundation Senior Legal Fellow GianCarlo Canaparo told The Daily Wire.
“Any entity that receives federal funds is prohibited by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act from discriminating on the basis of race and other protected categories,” Canaparo explained. “Giving priority to certain races, as the BIPOC internship does, is textbook discrimination.” He added that the discrimination could be remedied by way of a federal lawsuit.
The Croatan Institute has <a href="https://www.usaspending.gov/recipient/93c07c39-40a4-c537-677c-326962e00582-R/latest">garnered</a> more than $4 million in federal grants since fiscal year 2022. Included in that sum is a <a href="https://www.usaspending.gov/award/ASST_NON_25CA11083150101_12C2">$1.9 million grant</a> from the Department of Agriculture for fiscal year 2025, of which just under $470,000 has already been paid out. The organization was also slated to receive <a href="https://www.usaspending.gov/award/ASST_NON_5850903013_12H2">$40,000</a> from the Department of Agriculture to host a “financial health workshop series for BIPOC farmers and landowners.”
“If Croatan continues to receive federal funds, those funds are absolutely in jeopardy,” Canaparo explained. “And if Croatan hopes to receive more federal funds in the future, it will have to terminate this discriminatory internship program or it&#8217;s likely to <a href="https://fedsoc.org/commentary/fedsoc-blog/understanding-the-liability-risks-posed-by-trump-s-dei-order-1">face False Claims Act liability</a> in addition to all the other sorts of liability,” he added, highlighting yet another legal risk that the organization appears to have exposed itself to.
The organization appears to have held the internship program for several years as it was raking in the federal money. The Croatan Institute announced the internship’s <a href="https://croataninstitute.org/blaise-pilot-launches-for-bipoc-students-2/">pilot program</a> in 2022 and stated even more blatantly that applicants “must identify as black, indigenous, Latinx, or person of color.”
The program could threaten more than just the organization’s federal funding, however. Canaparo pointed out that the discriminatory program “jeopardizes its nonprofit status,” adding that “the IRS can revoke the tax-exempt status of a nonprofit that engages in race discrimination.”
The organization&#8217;s internship program is part of a <a href="https://croataninstitute.org/reefs/">broader initiative</a>, called &#8220;Racial Equity, Economics, Finance and Sustainability,&#8221; which seeks to &#8220;advance opportunities for greater representation of underserved communities.&#8221; The <a href="https://croataninstitute.org/BIPOC-Financial-Health/">initiative</a> includes one project, called the Financial Health Investment Project, which seeks to promote &#8220;the financial resilience and long-term success of Black and other minority farmers and landowners&#8221; by offering online financial coaching. The program was <a href="https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fy-2023-2501-funded-projects.pdf">funded</a> by Department of Agriculture to the tune of $731,000.
The Croatan Institute isn’t the only federal grant recipient that’s discriminated against whites as it&#8217;s pursued the DEI agenda. A music ensemble <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/music-ensemble-hosts-bipoc-internship-barring-white-applicants-citing-systemic-allyship">investigated</a> by The Daily Wire received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and held a “BIPOC internship” that explicitly barred whites from participation on account of their race.
The group even posted the demographic breakdown of their intern classes, further proving that it had excluded white applicants. The organization <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/non-profit-freezes-internship-that-discriminated-against-whites-after-daily-wire-investigation">froze its internship program</a> in the wake of The Daily Wire investigation.
The Croatan Institute did not respond to a request for comment.

Trump Executive Order

Go Woke, Go Broke: Nonprofit Could Lose Millions In Federal Funds Thanks To DEI Program

anti-white

Discrimination

Diversity

Racial Discrimination

Trump

Corporations that receive billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded federal contracts have a duty to be ideologically neutral, transparent, and accountable to the American people.
This shouldn’t need to be said. But 1792 Exchange’s <a href="https://1792exchange.com/contractors/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new database</a> of top government contractors shows that it does.
One of the report’s most striking revelations is the fact that some government contractors most aggressively aligned with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are not even American. These include the United Kingdom-based BAE Systems, BP, Deloitte, and Rolls-Royce, and Ireland-based Accenture.
Many American contractors blatantly promote radical agendas — at this point, LGBT might as well stand for “Lockheed, General Dynamics, Boeing, Textron” — but allowing foreign firms to act as ideological agents within the American system is beyond the pale.
These firms exert extensive influence on federal agencies and provide essential services such as defense technology, energy logistics, financial auditing, and consulting, while actively promoting a worldview that the American electorate and our current administration reject.
As President Donald Trump made clear in executive orders rescinding federal DEI mandates, the “government should be focused on mission readiness, not ideological indoctrination.” This principle must encompass foreign contractors and consultants.
To grasp the scale of ideological encroachment, consider <a href="https://1792exchange.com/spotlight-reports/corporate-bias-ratings/?c_id=1073" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BAE Systems</a>, the British defense and aerospace giant, which received $7.7 billion in government contracts in 2023.
Despite serving as a primary contractor for the Department of Defense, BAE has <a href="https://www.baesystems.com/en-us/article/bae-systems-inc-releases-third-annual-dei-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">adopted comprehensive DEI goals</a>, including race- and gender-based recruitment benchmarks and board composition — a commitment they called “<a href="https://www.annualreports.com/HostedData/AnnualReportArchive/b/LSE_BA_2023.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Change the Race Ratio</a>” in their 2023 annual report — and ethnicity-based mentorship programs, such as RISE, implemented by KPMG.
In the United Kingdom, where BAE is allowed to take “<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/positive-action-in-the-workplace-guidance-for-employers/positive-action-in-the-workplace#:~:text=communicate%20with%20staff.-,2.,is%20relevant%20to%20a%20case." target="_blank" rel="noopener">positive action</a>,” it must adhere to national expectations of not engaging in “positive discrimination.” Yet on American soil, with American funds, they behave as if potential violations of civil rights law are both normative and commendable.
Similarly, <a href="https://1792exchange.com/company/bp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BP</a> — the British energy conglomerate that obtained over a billion dollars in federal contracts from the United States government — publicly supports a vast range of DEI policies, <a href="https://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/business-sites/en/global/corporate/pdfs/sustainability/bp-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-report-2020.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">including racial equity audits</a>, <a href="https://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/business-sites/en/global/corporate/pdfs/investors/bp-directors-remuneration-report-2021.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DEI-linked executive compensation schemes,</a> and <a href="https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/careers/life-at-bp/our-stories/bp-recognized-by-stonewall.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gender identity training</a> protocols.
American citizens, through federal procurement budgets, are effectively subsidizing an imported ideology that increasingly lacks democratic legitimacy at home.
<a href="https://1792exchange.com/company/accenture/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Accenture</a> ($3 billion) and <a href="https://1792exchange.com/company/deloitte/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Deloitte</a> ($3.7 billion), incorporated in Ireland and the United Kingdom, respectively, have become deeply embedded in federal operations, making their cultural influence within agencies indistinguishable from that of internal leadership. These firms frequently promoted their DEI credentials in competitive bids, and until now, federal officials have often highlighted these characteristics as value-added features instead of liabilities.
It’s commendable that Accenture <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/accenture-dropping-corporate-dei-policies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced it would end its DEI initiatives</a>. However, given its history of establishing headquarters in foreign countries — first in Bermuda, then moving to Dublin in 2009 to avoid paying American taxes — it’s concerning that the company promoted this agenda at any point without being fully invested in the outcome of our nation.
Given that $3 billion of its $64.9 billion in revenue comes directly from American taxpayers, and its global CEO operates from an office in the Washington, D.C., area, one should question how Accenture can claim to be Irish. Notably, the company is aware of this line of inquiry, listing its Irish domicile as a risk factor in its <a href="https://www.accenture.com/content/dam/accenture/final/accenture-com/a-com-custom-component/iconic/document/Accenture-2024-10-K.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2024 10-K filing</a> with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Likewise, <a href="https://1792exchange.com/company/rolls-royce-holdings-plc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rolls-Royce</a> ($1.1 billion), the British aerospace firm, completes the list of foreign-headquartered contractors that combine technological excellence with radical ideological activism. Although it <a href="https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/companies/article/rolls-royce-dei-us-diversity-backlash-9hcs2zdrm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> rolled back funding for its identity-based employee resource groups in the United States, Rolls-Royce previously enacted internal policies that reflect the most radical tenets of the DEI framework, including <a href="https://www.rolls-royce.com/~/media/Files/R/Rolls-Royce/documents/annual-report/2021/ar2021-strategic-report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“anti-racism” events</a> and <a href="https://www.rolls-royce.com/country-sites/sea/our-stories/2019/women-in-stem.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unconscious bias training</a>.
The central paradox is this: as the United States reorients its federal policy around merit, neutrality, and excellence, some of the largest beneficiaries of government contracts are foreign actors advancing the very ideologies that Americans just voted to reject.
Congress and the Trump administration must act swiftly to align federal contracting policy with the new executive directives. A contractor’s country of incorporation must not allow it to launder political agendas through backdoor bureaucratic channels.
Ultimately, federal contracting is more than an economic matter; it is a matter of sovereignty. American taxpayers should not be subsidizing foreign entities that undermine American values. 1792 Exchange’s report has exposed this vulnerability. Now, it falls to policymakers to close the gap between the will of the people and the behavior of those paid to serve them.
Daniel Cameron is the CEO of the 1792 Exchange and the former attorney general of Kentucky.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Davos become a showcase for global companies

Foreign Companies Use Taxpayer Dollars To Push DEI. That Needs To Stop.

Lockheed Martin

Taxes

United Kingdom

Top Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton, apparently withdrew as headline speakers at the National Diversity Conference after The Daily Wire revealed the conference is run by a man accused of stealing millions from a diversity nonprofit.
The National Diversity Conference took place April 7-10 at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles, after selling non-refundable tickets with Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, and Obama cabinet secretary Julian Castro as the main draws. The conference had been selling photo ops with Oprah for $50,500 for one person or $550,000 for eight people, according to its <a href="https://nationaldiversityconference.com/2025/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/sponsorship.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sponsorship materials</a>.
But as the event rolled around, the only keynote speaker listed on the conference website was far-left professor Cornel West. Others apparently pulled out after The Daily Wire’s March 27 story exposing the conference as a scam, with the website quietly <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20250330081515/https://nationaldiversityconference.com/2025/speakers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">removing</a> <a href="https://nationaldiversityconference.com/2025/speakers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">names</a> without noting the change.
For years, marketing materials gave the impression that the National Diversity Conference was a program of a longstanding nonprofit called the National Diversity Council (NDC). The Council <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txsb.480568/gov.uscourts.txsb.480568.1.0.pdf?utm_source=www.courtwatch.news&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=118-give-us-43-minutes-your-honor&amp;_bhlid=cc0105e9be5906e96ab277c8a3c8624ccecd8545" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filed for bankruptcy</a> on March 17 after its board said in a lawsuit that its founder, R. Dennis Kennedy, “improperly paid himself millions of dollars from NDC’s donor funds.”
The <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txsd.1911128/gov.uscourts.txsd.1911128.25.0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suit</a> said Kennedy “paid himself a grossly excessive salary” while using the nonprofit as a front for his for-profit diversity consulting business called Diversity &amp; Leadership Inc., intertwining the two in imperceptible ways so that costs went to the nonprofit and revenue-generating activities went to his company.
A tax form on the conference’s website indicates that it is <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20250327093145/https://nationaldiversityconference.com/2025/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/w9.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">run by</a> Diversity &amp; Leadership Inc. According to Texas business filings, the company’s corporate registration was revoked in March 2023 for failure to pay taxes, but was reinstated two months later.
The nonprofit’s 2020 <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/711037612/202202179349300715/full" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IRS disclosure</a> said Kennedy was paid $450,000 for 10 hours of work per week. In 2022, at the height of corporations’ DEI hype, Kennedy, chief executive officer Ángeles Valenciano, and chief financial officer Jason deGroot also “unilaterally decided that they were owed almost $3 million in ‘back pay,’ and then paid themselves more than $1 million of donor funds,” the lawsuit said.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-898123 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/conference-clinton-995x576.jpg" alt="" width="995" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/conference-clinton-995x576.jpg 995w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/conference-clinton-300x174.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/conference-clinton-768x445.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/conference-clinton-1536x889.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/conference-clinton-2048x1185.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 995px) 100vw, 995px" /></div>
As board members became suspicious and determined that there was no basis for the payments, Kennedy systematically moved the nonprofit’s trademarks and web domains into his own name, and essentially created a fake organization with the same name that would trick people into paying him directly, the suit indicated.
In 2021 and 2022, Kennedy filed for 350 trademarks with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, registering NDC’s name, <a href="https://tsdr.uspto.gov/documentviewer?caseId=sn97537006&amp;docId=FTK20220809105529&amp;linkId=10#docIndex=9&amp;page=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">initials</a>, and key program names, such as the National Diversity Awards, to himself personally. In some cases, Kennedy allegedly waited for notification that the NDC’s trademarks were expiring, and instead of renewing them for the organization, he re-trademarked them in his own name without telling the board.
<a href="https://nationaldiversitycouncil.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NationalDiversityCouncil.org</a> now leads to a website of an organization that purports to be the National Diversity Council, listing Kennedy as its founder and with no board. Dawn Hooper, an accountant who is managing the bankruptcy for NDC’s board, told The Daily Wire that the site is “not operated by the National Diversity Council.”
The suit said the trio’s conduct “gives rise to criminal liability…at a minimum, a third degree felony.”
In addition to the for-profit D&amp;L Inc., Kennedy ran two Texas-based nonprofits, the Texas Diversity Council and the California Diversity Council, which were used to double-dip on salaries for the trio of executives and siphon off consulting revenue from NDC, while using NDC staff and resources for all the groups’ expenses, the lawsuit said.
According to tax disclosures, in 2021 Kennedy was paid $787,000 in salary by the national nonprofit and $351,113 from the Texas one; Valenciano was paid $460,000 from NDC and $133,000 from Texas; and deGroot was paid $460,000 from the national nonprofit and $123,000 from Texas. The IRS filings claim Valenciano and deGroot worked 40 hours a week for the Texas nonprofit while also working 35 hours a week for the national nonprofit. They also claim Kennedy worked 40 hours a week for the Texas nonprofit, which would leave little time for his many for-profit ventures or the national nonprofit.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-898349 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/ndc-2021-990-1024x527.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="527" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/ndc-2021-990-1024x527.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/ndc-2021-990-300x154.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/ndc-2021-990-768x395.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/ndc-2021-990-1536x791.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/ndc-2021-990.jpg 1884w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
“Kennedy, along with his co-defendants, used NDC resources, such as their own time and the time of NDC staff, to assist with non-NDC organizations in order to benefit Kennedy’s other ventures and, ultimately, Kennedy himself,” the suit said.
Kennedy is now running a constellation of identity- and anti-racism-focused groups, all of which appear to be bare-bones fronts for his for-profit firm.
The conference’s materials indicate that numerous politicians have been taken in by the alleged grifter, with Barack Obama, Jeb Bush, Colin Powell, Eric Holder, and Hillary Clinton all listed as past speakers.
The speaker changes came just after The Daily Wire asked the Harry Walker Agency, which represents both Clinton and Winfrey in speaking engagements, about the story, though Walker never responded to the request for comment.
Dwayne Mason, a patent attorney who has represented Kennedy, responded to The Daily Wire’s inquiry by saying, “You’d think if he stole millions of dollars, then somehow there’d be charges brought by the state [of Texas], which hasn’t happened.” He demanded that it delete its story because it is &#8220;full of lies.&#8221; When asked for an example, he said, &#8220;No, I’m staying at the 6,000-foot view.&#8221;
Kennedy appears to have escaped culpability in the civil lawsuit precisely because his alleged fleecing of the nonprofit was so extensive. On March 28, the lawsuit was administratively <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txsd.1911128/gov.uscourts.txsd.1911128.103.0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">closed</a> because the nonprofit had filed for bankruptcy.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/national-diversity-council-files-for-bankruptcy-says-top-employees-stole-millions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Diversity Council Files For Bankruptcy, Says Top Employees Stole Millions</a>

Dennis Kennedy with Hillary Clinton / National Diversity Council

Bill Clinton Quits Scam DEI Conference Following Daily Wire Exposé

Bill Clinton

Julian Castro

President Joe Biden’s USAID awarded a contract for up to $800 million in potential work to a joint venture even after it had substantial evidence that one of its biggest partners, Vistant, had been involved in a bribery scheme to win contracts from the foreign aid agency.
The contract was for addressing “issues affecting the root causes of irregular migration from Central America to the United States” — the work that Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/after-dnc-platform-was-printed-the-program-it-touts-as-top-border-success-was-shut-down-for-fraud">assigned</a> to Vice President Kamala Harris, but which she never appeared to address, a Daily Wire investigation found.
The Department of Justice <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/usaid-official-three-contractors-plead-guilty-to-half-billion-dollar-bribery-scheme">announced Friday</a> that Walter Barnes III, the founder of government contractor Vistant (previously known as PM Consulting Group, or PMCG) and Roderick Watson, a USAID contracting official, pleaded guilty to a bribery scheme in which Barnes and two others conspired to pay Watson $1 million in exchange for $544 million in contracts.
The DOJ said Vistant as a corporation was guilty, and granted it a deferred prosecution agreement “for clearly accepting responsibility for its criminal conduct and cooperating with the investigation.” The department said that “although Vistant’s cooperation was initially delayed and limited, Vistant began to fully cooperate thereafter,” and removed Barnes as CEO.
What has not been reported is that the Biden administration continued to steer contracts to Vistant/PMCG even after it knew of the massive corruption: the migration contract, even larger than the $544 million in the indictment, and others that are still active.
The up-to-$800 million contracting opportunity went to a joint venture between Vistant and CollaborateUp, a tiny consultancy run out of a suburban home in Falls Church, Virginia, where its CEO, Richard Crespin — who runs the company while also working at a think tank — lives. The Virginia home was the address listed on the contract.
In <a href="https://collaborateup.com/central-america-regional-support-services-carss-idiq/">announcing</a> its selection for the work in late 2024, CollaborateUp said it would address the “irregular migration from Central America to the United States” by addressing “climate change.” Its <a href="https://collaborateup.com/services/our-work/">website</a> also touts its work “advancing DEIA” and combating “misinformation.”
<div id="attachment_934911" style="width: 309px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-934911" class="wp-image-934911 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/hq-299x576.jpg" alt="Contracting records list this home as the headquarters of an entity that was chosen for up to $800 million in contracts to reduce illegal immigration." width="299" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/hq-299x576.jpg 299w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/hq-156x300.jpg 156w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/hq.jpg 730w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 299px) 100vw, 299px" />Contracting records list this home as the headquarters of an entity that was chosen for up to $800 million in contracts to reduce illegal immigration.</div>
In 2025, it added Mark A. Green, a former Republican congressman who served as Donald Trump’s appointee to lead USAID during his first term, as a <a href="https://collaborateup.com/who-we-are/our-team/">“senior advisor,”</a> according to its website.
Though a previous version of this article said that Green was put on CollaborateUp’s payroll, after publication, representatives for Crespin said that Green had never been paid for his work with the company, but was added as the pair was considering &#8220;chasing business together.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_934909" style="width: 408px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-934909" class="wp-image-934909 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/green-398x576.jpg" alt="" width="398" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/green-398x576.jpg 398w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/green-207x300.jpg 207w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/green-768x1111.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/green-1062x1536.jpg 1062w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/green.jpg 1206w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 398px) 100vw, 398px" />A screenshot of Mark Green listed as a senior advisor CollaborateUp&#8217;s website.</div>
Crespin did not return a request for comment before publication, but said afterward in a statement that “CollaborateUp and I had no idea what [Barnes] had done&#8230; Once we learned about it, we worked with our partner, Vistant, to assure it would no longer be connected to” its founder and CEO. Crespin says that after Barnes was removed from his position before the joint venture pressed forward with its efforts to receive an award from USAID, and says neither CollaborateUp nor Crespin were implicated in Barnes’ wrongdoing.
Vistant’s criminal scheme relied on joint ventures to exploit a DEI policy called 8(a) contracting, which lets the government award contracts with no or limited competition when the recipient is a racial minority or a small business. It formed a joint venture with a larger company —which was bribing Watson and would actually do the work — so Watson could use Barnes’ status as a black man to steer the contracts to him, rather than being obligated to go through an open competitive process.
Barnes’ company ultimately received hundreds of millions of dollars, stripping his “disadvantaged” status, and the CollaborateUp joint venture relied on CollaborateUp’s status as a small business to win a contract with limited competition, while relying on Barnes and other larger firms to actually do most of the work.
CollaborateUp says it &#8220;co-developed&#8221; USAID&#8217;s <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Yo_qnb-WmfPY9YExhZ2FiqIqkOeAYubY/view">&#8220;procurement reform&#8221;</a> policies &#8220;alongside former Administrator Mark Green&#8221; when he led USAID in Trump’s first term. Then it sought business in 2025 working alongside Green when he was no longer with the agency, after learning that it was working with entities that had criminally corrupted the USAID contracting process. Again, CollaborateUp says it was unaware of the criminal activity by Barnes and Vistant, and also that it had distanced itself from Barnes before working with Green.  
The bribes by Barnes and his co-conspirators laid out in charging papers — which included cash, fake payroll payments, a country club wedding, a trip to Martha’s Vineyard, a down payment on a house, and basketball tickets — took place between 2013 and 2022. USAID inspector general investigators knew of the corruption. On November 9, 2023, the government barred Vistant and Barnes from contracting based on “evidence of conduct indicating a lack of business honesty or integrity.” 

That same day, it notified the Vistant-CollaborateUp joint venture, called PMCG CollaborateUp JV LLC, that it had been chosen for the “root causes of migration” contract vehicle.
A USAID contracting official believed the award was “legally questionable” and told the contractors later that month that he was refusing final sign-off. He said that even though CollaborateUp owned 51% of the joint venture, according to the proposal, almost all the work would be done by Vistant or subcontractors. That meant, in that official’s view, CollaborateUp brought little to the table except being a middleman, while the contract’s “driving force” was banned for lack of integrity, according to civil court papers.
After they disassociated themselves from Barnes, the contractors took the government to <a href="https://ecf.cofc.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2024cv0079-35-0">court asking</a> a judge for a permanent injunction “prohibiting USAID from rescinding its award.”
On June 10, 2024, Paul Young, a go-between who paid Watson to obscure the paper trail to Barnes, was <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mdd.561574/gov.uscourts.mdd.561574.1.1.pdf">indicted</a> for his role in bribing Watson to influence &#8220;the award of USAID contracts valued at hundreds of millions of dollars.&#8221; The indictment refers to Vistant and Barnes as Company 3 and CC-3 and says, &#8220;Young began making payments from CC-3 to CC-1 [Watson].&#8221; It describes how, for example, in October 2022, CC-3 sent a down payment for Watson&#8217;s home to him through Young.
Two days later, on June 12, 2024, Judge Charles F. Lettow issued “a limited injunction,” punting the decision about the $800 million contract back to USAID to reevaluate. By that time, Vistant had been removed from the list of banned contractors, though the ban on its founder, Barnes, remained.
On August 22, 2024, USAID awarded the <a href="https://www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_IDV_72051924D00017_7200">“indefinite quantity” contract of up to $800 million</a> for “USAID Central America Regional Support Services” to PMCG CollaborateUp JV LLC. It made an initial payment of $10,000 that day.
Further demonstrating that the government knew at the time that Vistant/PMCG had gotten its previous USAID contracts through bribery, one week later, prosecutors offered a <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mdd.567709/gov.uscourts.mdd.567709.13.2.pdf">plea deal</a> to a co-conspirator of Barnes, Darryl F. Britt, that laid out the findings of a long-running investigation from USAID&#8217;s inspector general. The plea deal referred to Vistant as Company 2, and Barnes as CC-2.
“Indefinite delivery” contracts are open-ended contracts that allow the government to send repeated work to a company over a period of time up to a maximum amount, meaning the government could pay PMCG CollaborateUp as much as $800 million, but could also pay less. A handful of other companies were also eligible for work under the same contract.
The migration contract was terminated in February 2025 — not because of Vistant’s involvement,but because the Trump administration was shuttering USAID over suspicion that graft and insider deals were common, which liberals decried as a conspiracy theory.
Yet the Biden administration&#8217;s General Services Administration, which oversees government-wide contracting, also gave PMCG CollaborateUp JV LLC two contracts lasting five years each, despite the government’s knowledge that Barnes had gotten contracts through bribery.
On November 6, 2024 — the day after the presidential election — GSA awarded the joint venture an indefinite delivery <a href="https://www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_IDV_47QRCA25DSD24_4732">contract through 2029</a>, whose cap was listed as $999,999,999,999.00. It paid $2,500 as the opening salvo.
On December 19, shortly before the Biden administration left office, GSA gave it <a href="https://www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_IDV_47QRCA25DSD24_4732">another</a> indefinite delivery contract with similar terms. According to its GSA Price List, the company rents administrative assistants to the government for <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Yo_qnb-WmfPY9YExhZ2FiqIqkOeAYubY/view">$93.68</a> an hour.
The half-billion dollar bribery scheme is just one instance of fraud at USAID that was known about during the Biden administration, but not prosecuted until the Trump administration.
Stephen Paul Edmund Sutton, a British citizen who worked for a USAID contractor, <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/former-contractor-usaid-funded-program-extradited-united-states-convicted-and-sentenced">pleaded</a> <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/former-contractor-usaid-funded-program-extradited-united-states-convicted-and-sentenced">guilty</a> on May 19 to taking kickbacks related to an electric program in Pakistan. Sutton and a co-conspirator who worked for him were in charge of giving out subcontractors to Pakistani vendors to perform work.
In 2015, the pair created two companies and had the contractor pay them for forklift and crane services. Then, those companies hired Pakistanis for half the amount. Prosecutors said the agency was defrauded of $100,000. Sutton was ordered to be handed over to immigration authorities instead of jail.
The Daily Wire previously revealed that USAID’s inspector general told a federal court in November that another foreign aid contracting official, Matthieu Zahui of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/foreign-aid-official-who-resisted-doge-took-secret-payments-after-steering-africa-money-to-friend">African</a> <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/foreign-aid-official-who-resisted-doge-took-secret-payments-after-steering-africa-money-to-friend">Development Foundation</a>, had steered contracts to a friend who secretly paid him personally. USAID had credible tips about Zahui for years, but didn’t take his phone until February 2024. The phone, it said, contained evidence that he was receiving wire transfers to his personal bank account from the owner of a contractor he had steered government funds to.
But USAID did not ask a judge for a search warrant to conduct further investigation until November 4, the day before the election. Zahiu has not been criminally charged as of now.
Editor’s note: This piece has been updated with additional information provided after publication by CollaborateUp.

Walter Barnes

USAID’s $800M ‘Root Causes Of Migration’ Plan Included Company That Feds Knew Previously Bribed Agency

Immigration

Kamala Harris

USAID

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DEI

‘I’d F* Your Old Lady In The A’: Liberal Mayor Berates Christian At LGBT Festival