The University of Miami Health System appears to have scrubbed references to radical gender and racial ideologies from its website. That doesn’t mean it’s abandoned those principles.
UHealth recently deleted webpages highlighting diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and so-called gender-affirming services, information obtained by Consumers&#8217; Research and shared with The Daily Wire shows. The move comes as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on hospitals and other institutions to scale back transgender medicine and abandon DEI initiatives.
But UHealth’s facelift may just be for show. The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine operation — which once <a href="https://news.med.miami.edu/miller-school-recognized-for-diversity-and-inclusion/">boasted</a> that “diversity is not just a goal, it’s essential to the business of health care” — still maintains racial quotas for both staff and medical school applicants. And while UHealth <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230320180241/https://umiamihealth.org/treatments-and-services/lgbtq-services">deleted</a> a public page outlining its transgender procedures, it still offers everything from hormone treatments to surgeries, sometimes to children as young as 12.
Advocates say nonprofit hospital systems receiving taxpayer support have a responsibility to focus on patient care rather than political activism. 
“Nonprofit hospitals receive massive taxpayer subsidies to care for the sick and keep us healthy, not to bankroll activist agendas,&#8221; Consumers&#8217; Research executive director Will Hild said. His organization is publishing evidence of UHealth&#8217;s ideological priorities as part of its <a id="m_380556438124433728m_-3045006689688549635OWAf2c5d792-40c8-ff0b-b285-5674e35360ac" href="https://consumersresearch.org/badmedicine/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://consumersresearch.org/badmedicine/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1773363826991000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3HkgqO57wRtJMEqYn7H99Q">Bad Medicine</a> initiative, which &#8220;targets nonprofit health systems across the country who are prioritizing political ideology over patients.&#8221;
Should UHealth continue to do so, it could put it in the government&#8217;s crosshairs as the Trump administration ramps up scrutiny of hospitals accused of prioritizing ideological programs over patient care.
“President Trump took swift action to protect children from harmful transgender ideology through executive orders to halt transgender interventions for kids,” O. H. Skinner, executive director of the Alliance for Consumers, told The Daily Wire. &#8220;The message is clear: taxpayer money should not subsidize life-ruining gender procedures on children.&#8221;
UHealth has scrubbed <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230320180241/https://umiamihealth.org/treatments-and-services/lgbtq-services">sites</a> detailing the wide range of transgender procedures it offers — everything from specialized hormone treatments to referrals for surgical procedures and voice treatments.
<a href="https://umiamihealth.org/en/treatments-and-services/infectious-diseases/uhealth-rapid-access-wellness-clinic">All of those services</a> are still very much available at UHealth — to almost all patients.
The UHealth Rapid Wellness Clinic <a href="https://umiamihealth.org/treatments-and-services/infectious-diseases/uhealth-rapid-access-wellness-clinic#:~:text=The%20RAPID%20Program%20offers%20services%20such%20as:,care%20at%20community%20sites%20in%20Miami%2DDade%20County">continues to offer</a> transgender services, offering “personalized, holistic care for transgender people to enhance mental and physical well-being,” including prescriptions for “feminizing and masculinizing hormones” and referrals for surgical consultations.
According to <a href="https://doctors.umiamihealth.org/provider/lydia-ann-fein/1094992?_gl=1*1ifi9es*_ga*MTQ0MTcxMTA0MC4xNzcxNDQ3OTAw*_ga_JCW15RZR91*czE3NzMyMzQ0MzckbzEyJGcwJHQxNzczMjM0NDM4JGo1OSRsMCRoMA">program materials</a>, those services are available to patients as young as 12.
Dr. Lydia Ann Fein, who leads the Gender Affirmation Program at the University of Miami Health System, said in an interview with the <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/gay-south-florida/article244097007.html">Miami Herald</a> that a significant portion of the clinic’s patients are teenagers.
“Thirty percent of my transgender patients are teens,” Fein said. “I’m seeing a shift to younger patients.”
Fein attributed the increase in younger patients to greater visibility of transgender identities. “In general, with transgender and gender nonconforming people being more visible in society and the media, younger people are identifying this within themselves and parents are more aware,” she said. “It’s more accepted.”
The UHealth LGBTQ Services clinic, which houses the Gender Affirmation Program, sees hundreds of patients annually. Fein said the program coordinates with specialists across multiple fields, including plastic surgery, urology, and more.
“We also have an ear, nose, and throat surgeon and a speech pathologist for voice training and modification surgery,” she said.
Fein also emphasized the importance of psychological support for patients seeking gender-related treatments. “For those patients, it’s extremely important that they are connected to mental health care in some fashion and community organizations that offer social support,” she said.
The medical school also <a href="https://news.med.miami.edu/miller-school-and-miami-dade-college-partner-on-pathways-program/">partners</a> with Miami Dade College to increase the number of minority medical school applicants through mentoring programs, MCAT preparation, and financial stipends for participants.
“Diversity, or the lack of it, among medical professionals affects care delivery, clinical decision-making, and participation in clinical trials,” the University of Miami says. “Most importantly, it impacts patient outcomes.”
Archived materials show the medical school also hosted a <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210222190245/https:/med.miami.edu/en/offices/diversity/about-us/task-force">“Task Force on Racial Justice,”</a> which recommended increasing recruitment of Black faculty members and encouraging more students from underrepresented minority groups to pursue training at the school. The school also launched a <a href="https://med.miami.edu/about-us/culture-change#:~:text=The%20Miller%20School%20of%20Medicine%20has%20a,*%20**History**%20*%20**Offices**%20*%20**Community%20Outreach**">“Culture Change”</a> initiative featuring faculty committees focused on improving institutional culture to create an “affirming and energizing environment.&#8221;
The University of Miami’s medical system has also embraced environmental activism through the university’s GreenU sustainability program. The initiative promotes policies aimed at reducing carbon emissions, encouraging<a href="https://greenu.miami.edu/initiatives/food-and-well-being/index.html"> reduced meat consumption</a>, and shifting school food systems toward what administrators describe as more <a href="https://greenu.miami.edu/initiatives/food-and-well-being/sustainable-food/index.html">“sustainable”</a> options.
The health system has also faced questions about oversight and leadership. In one case, a UHealth physician was fired after posting graphic photographs of transgender patients’ genitalia on a personal Instagram account. More recently, the Department of Health and Human Services <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/hhs-decertifies-miami-organ-agency-reforms-transplant-system.html">announced</a> plans to decertify and shut down a University of Miami organ procurement organization after investigators cited “years of unsafe practices, poor training, chronic underperformance, understaffing, and paperwork errors.&#8221;
The University of Miami did not respond to a request for comment.

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A Major Health System Scrubbed The Woke From Its Website. It Hasn’t Really Changed.

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Donald Trump

Hospitals

Miami

Transgender

Wokeness

When a crippling ice storm hit Nashville leaving hundreds of thousands in the cold and dark, customers could rest assured knowing that the utility company tasked with restoring power made sure its employees were trained to recognize their &#8220;implicit biases&#8221; and had a diverse friend group.
In January 2026, winter storm Fern slammed into Nashville, leaving a heavy coat of ice that took out trees and powerlines throughout the city. The resulting damage left 230,000 residents without power for days amid frigid temperatures. During the storm, the Nashville Electric Service (NES), a public-private utility responsible for powering the city, was lambasted by residents and elected officials alike for its confusing communication about its preparation and response to the historic storm.
Amid the chaos, Democrat Mayor Freddie O&#8217;Connell attempted to shift blame away from his office while top Republicans pointed to the utility&#8217;s documented focus on DEI and climate change. Republican officials questioned whether the utility had become more focused on politics rather than competency.
<div id="attachment_1052805" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1052805" class="size-full wp-image-1052805" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2257840500.jpg" alt="Damaged ice-covered trees and downed power lines during a winter storm in east Nashville, Tennessee, US, on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. US power grids are expected to grapple with unprecedented seasonal demand and the threat of blackouts after a damaging winter storm coated parts of the South and Mid-Atlantic in ice - leaving brutal cold in its wake." width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2257840500.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2257840500-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2257840500-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2257840500-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Photographer: Kate Dearman/Bloomberg via Getty Images.</div>
While previous reporting highlighted NES boasting about its DEI trainings, new documents obtained by The Daily Wire through public record requests reveal the actual trainings.
One training called &#8220;Building a Culture of Trust&#8221; focused on the concept of &#8220;implicit bias,&#8221; a theory that people are unintentionally prejudiced against others based on their identity. A training slide defined implicit bias as &#8220;a negative attitude, of which one is not consciously aware, against a specific social group.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_1052633" style="width: 2054px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1052633" class="size-full wp-image-1052633" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-02-at-12.00.20-PM.png" alt="" width="2044" height="1146" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-02-at-12.00.20-PM.png 2044w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-02-at-12.00.20-PM-300x168.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-02-at-12.00.20-PM-1024x574.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-02-at-12.00.20-PM-768x431.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-02-at-12.00.20-PM-1536x861.png 1536w" sizes=" (max-width: 2044px) 100vw, 2044px" />NES slide obtained by Daily Wire.</div>
The training was facilitated in 2023 by Chandra Jarrett of the Nashville-based Joy Consulting Group, according to a schedule of trainings obtained by The Daily Wire. It was required for all supervisors and managers. The training did not appear on the schedule for the 2024-2025 training schedule provided to The Daily Wire.
The objective of the training was to &#8220;identify and create a culture of trust&#8221; and to &#8220;identify implicit or unconscious bias to become more aware of the impact on coworkers and customers.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_1052625" style="width: 2068px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1052625" class="size-full wp-image-1052625" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-02-at-12.00.40-PM.png" alt="" width="2058" height="1178" srcset="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-02-at-12.00.40-PM.png 2058w, https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-02-at-12.00.40-PM-300x172.png 300w, https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-02-at-12.00.40-PM-1006x576.png 1006w, https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-02-at-12.00.40-PM-768x440.png 768w, https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-02-at-12.00.40-PM-1536x879.png 1536w" sizes=" (max-width: 2058px) 100vw, 2058px" />NES training obtained by Daily Wire.</div>
Another slide says that implicit bias can be &#8220;thoughts or feelings we have without our conscious knowledge,&#8221; &#8220;can be stereotypes about others,&#8221; or can be &#8220;negative attitudes or opinions about others.&#8221;  To combat implicit bias, employees were told to &#8220;intentionally&#8221; pursue &#8220;diversity in relationships.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_1052679" style="width: 2570px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1052679" class="size-full wp-image-1052679" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-10-53-AM-1619.jpg" alt="" width="2560" height="1440" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-10-53-AM-1619.jpg 2560w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-10-53-AM-1619-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-10-53-AM-1619-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-10-53-AM-1619-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-10-53-AM-1619-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-10-53-AM-1619-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" />NES slide obtained by Daily Wire.</div>
Employees were asked to consider whether they were &#8220;connected&#8221; to people of different races and sexual orientations than themselves.
<div id="attachment_1052687" style="width: 2570px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1052687" class="size-full wp-image-1052687" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-10-56-AM-4043.jpg" alt="" width="2560" height="1440" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-10-56-AM-4043.jpg 2560w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-10-56-AM-4043-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-10-56-AM-4043-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-10-56-AM-4043-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-10-56-AM-4043-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-10-56-AM-4043-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" />NES slide obtained by The Daily Wire.</div>
Later in the presentation, employees were given multiple examples of &#8220;implicit bias in the workplace.&#8221; One of the examples of &#8220;sexual orientation bias&#8221; included a fictional scenario where a woman was fired for asking for time off for a &#8220;Pride&#8221; event.
“A woman tells her boss she would like to take off for Pride weekend. Her coworker says, &#8216;You shouldn’t have told him that because he’s not into that.&#8217; A few weeks later the woman is terminated,&#8221; the scenario read. 
<div id="attachment_1052701" style="width: 2570px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1052701" class="size-full wp-image-1052701" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-11-04-AM-813.jpg" alt="" width="2560" height="1440" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-11-04-AM-813.jpg 2560w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-11-04-AM-813-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-11-04-AM-813-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-11-04-AM-813-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-11-04-AM-813-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-11-04-AM-813-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" />NES training slide obtained by Daily Wire.</div>
An example of &#8220;gender and professional bias&#8221; in the workplace was the common cultural assumption that men will provide for their families.
&#8220;Men are often seen as &#8216;providers&#8217; for their families, many times receiving higher pay and opportunities for promotion,&#8221; the slide says. &#8220;Women are not given the same opportunities, sometimes considered as inexperienced or unable to complete the same projects/tasks as men.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_1052707" style="width: 2570px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1052707" class="size-full wp-image-1052707" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-11-09-AM-3965.jpg" alt="" width="2560" height="1440" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-11-09-AM-3965.jpg 2560w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-11-09-AM-3965-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-11-09-AM-3965-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-11-09-AM-3965-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-11-09-AM-3965-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-11-09-AM-3965-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" />NES training slide obtained by Daily Wire.</div>
Another slide says that a hiring manager did not hire a Muslim woman because of her faith, even though the manager determined she did not have the skills for the job.
&#8220;A woman in a hijab applies for a position but she’s not considered because of your belief about Muslims,&#8221; the slide said. &#8220;Your assessment says she was not hired because of skills but the truth is that she was denied because of her ethnicity and faith.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_1052713" style="width: 2570px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1052713" class="size-full wp-image-1052713" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-11-12-AM-9309.jpg" alt="" width="2560" height="1440" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-11-12-AM-9309.jpg 2560w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-11-12-AM-9309-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-11-12-AM-9309-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-11-12-AM-9309-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-11-12-AM-9309-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-11-12-AM-9309-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" />NES training slide obtained by Daily Wire.</div>
Another slide appeared to be a personal story from the training administrator claiming that a white man told her she would make a &#8220;good maid&#8221; and that a judge confused her son as a criminal defendent because of his hair.
&#8220;A few years ago, my son entered the court room with his client and the judge assumed he was the client because of his locs. My son is an attorney,&#8221; the slide said. &#8220;Early in my engineering career, while working in a production plant, I was told by a White man that I would make a good maid.&#8221;
The presentation concluded by telling employees to &#8220;be curious by asking questions of people who can teach you about your implicit biases&#8221; and &#8220;courageous in admitting your implicit biases with a willingness to grow and change.&#8221;
Several of the slides from the presentation have the logo of the GiANT consulting group. GiANT told The Daily Wire it was not involved in crafting the training and did not create the slides.
&#8220;As part of our Culture of Civility and Belonging Training Series, we implemented these comprehensive professional development programs designed to enhance interpersonal dynamics and operational excellence,&#8221; a spokesman for Nashville Electric Service told The Daily Wire. &#8220;These modules were completed by employees in 2023-2025. We are proud of our employees&#8217; commitment to these principles as they continue to serve our customers.&#8221;
Other trainings obtained by The Daily Wire showed that employees were trained in various leadership and communication styles, team dynamics, conflict resolution, and ways to increase &#8220;belonging&#8221; at the utility.
According to its 2024 Community Investment <a href="https://www.nespower.com/-/media/project/nes/common/pdfs/annual-reports/2024/nes-esg-2024-report-interactive.pdf">report</a>, Nashville Electric Service held 102 Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Belonging (DEIAB) themed training sessions in 2023 and into 2024.
&#8220;These courses are the first step in a multi-year training series to foster DEIAB values throughout the organization,&#8221; the report boasted. The trainings were not mentioned in the 2025 community investment report.
As the historic storm left Nashville reeling, the Tennessee Star <a href="https://tennesseestar.com/politics/nashville-electric-service-receives-consulting-for-dei-projects-and-initiatives-from-field-superintendent-who-recruits-new-employees/tpappert/2026/01/29/">reported</a> that the board of Nashville Electric Service was considering the contract of a DEI consultant. That prompted backlash from locals and Republican lawmakers who questioned why the utility was discussing DEI amid the disaster.
A spokesman for NES told The Daily Wire that it does not do DEI training.
&#8220;We hire, train and promote employees in accordance with laws governing non-discrimination, merit-based promotion and overall qualification to execute a job&#8217;s duties. We have had a long-standing commitment to maintaining a workplace culture rooted in mutual respect, civility and trust,&#8221; the company said. 
Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), currently running for governor, sent a <a href="https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/services/files/7D81B642-E140-4ABA-86C0-CD46005EBDCD">letter</a> to NES on January 30 demanding answers about the utility&#8217;s handling of the storm. In a post on X, Blackburn questioned its DEI initiatives.
&#8220;The Nashville Electric Service held 102 DEI-related training sessions by the end of 2024,&#8221; Blackburn said. &#8220;They should’ve been using those resources to trim trees and bury utilities. This is what happens when companies put woke politics over the needs of the people they serve.&#8221;
In the meantime, NES has <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2026/02/17/nashville-electric-service-lobbyists.html">hired</a> numerous lobbyists to combat the criticism.

MixCollage-03-Mar-2026-01-23-PM-8402

EXCLUSIVE: Before Historic Storm, Embattled Electric Service Asked Workers If They Had Gay Friends

Implicit Bias

Marsha Blackburn

Nashville

Tennessee

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Friday that Scouting America, formerly known as the Boy Scouts, agreed to abandon its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and ensure private spaces for males and females. 
Hegseth said the Pentagon would continue providing support to Scouting America contingent on its compliance with demands to drop woke policies. He added that the department would yank funding if the organization did not follow through on its commitment to end DEI policies. 
&#8220;After 2012, however, the Boy Scouts lost their way, and a once great organization became gravely wounded. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) crept in. The name was changed to ‘Scouting America.’  Girls were accepted,” Hegseth said in a video message.  &#8220;The focus on God as the ruler of the universe was watered down to include openness to humanism and Earth-centered pagan religions. Scouting became an organization that no longer supported and celebrated boys.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The Department of War has officially put Scouting America on notice.
It’s time to get back to basics — and DoW is leading the charge. <a href="https://t.co/EnY9mvaFLX">pic.twitter.com/EnY9mvaFLX</a>
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecWar/status/2027369564531818827?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 27, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Historically, the department has supported the Scouts by providing personnel and access to equipment, installations, facilities, and office space. Hegseth said the changes adopted by the organization since 2012 “jeopardized the relationship with this department and I was very seriously considering ending our support of scouting altogether.&#8221;
Hegseth said Scouting America agreed to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order on &#8220;Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” which bars federal funding for organizations that promote DEI. He described the move as one of several “key reforms” the group had agreed to implement. 
He said the organization would be &#8220;reviewing and replacing politicized, divisive, and discriminatory language throughout the organization&#8217;s programs and all publications. No more DEI. Zero.”
Hegseth added that the organization would discontinue a DEI-focused merit badge and introduce a new military service badge. He said Scouting America would also clarify its policies to ensure that showers, tents, and other private spaces were kept sex-specific. 
“Scouting America will modify its policy to make clear that membership will be based solely on biological sex at birth and not gender identity,” Hegseth said. “That means that the application, any application, will have only two sex designations, male and female, and the application must match the applicant&#8217;s birth certificate. Scouting will also make clear that biological boys and girls will not be allowed to occupy or share intimate spaces together.”
In a statement to The Daily Wire, Scouting America said it had engaged in dialogue with the Trump administration to comply with the DEI executive order, but added that it would keep its current name and emphasized that girls would still be welcome.
&#8220;Over several months, we engaged in dialogue with Department leadership to align on how we could deepen our service to military families, while making programmatic updates to comply with Executive Order 14173,&#8221; the organization said. &#8220;Today we are moving forward with implementing new programmatic elements that deliver on that mission: waiving registration fees for military families, launching a new merit badge focused on military service and veterans, and reinforcing our commitment to Scouting’s foundational ideas: leadership, character, duty to God, duty to country and service. &#8221;
Hegseth said that the Department of War would review Scouting America’s compliance with the agreement and reassess its support in six months to determine whether to continue providing funding.
Earlier this month, Hegseth <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hegseths-war-department-says-boy-scouts-must-roll-back-woke-or-lose-military-support">gave</a> an ultimatum to Scouting America, telling the organization to ditch DEI or lose support from the Department of War. Before rebranding to Scouting America, the organization was known as the Boy Scouts for more than a century. Hegseth said he would like to see the organization return to its original name.

SECRETARY OF WAR PETE HEGSETH, COLORADO

Trump Admin Strikes Deal With Boy Scouts To End Woke Policies — Here Are The Reforms

Boy Scouts

Department of War

Pentagon

Pete Hegseth

The Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether Microsoft makes it challenging for customers to use its products on rival cloud services.
After a report in July 2025 that Microsoft was employing China-based engineers for work on certain Pentagon cloud systems, the software company <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/microsoft-ends-use-china-based-computer-engineers-certain-defense-dept-projects-amid-espionage-fears">said</a> that it adjusted its policies to ensure that “no China-based engineering teams are providing technical assistance for DOD government cloud and related services.”
Will Hild, the executive director of Consumer’s Research, says the investigation is a good sign.
“Microsoft’s massive market power is finally being scrutinized by Trump’s FTC, and rightly so, as the company uses its dominant market share to push a radical, woke agenda while potentially engaging in anti-competitive behavior,” Hild told The Daily Wire.
Last year, Consumers’ Research issued a “woke alert” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/woke-alert-microsoft-slammed-for-race-based-pay-equity-scheme">highlighting</a> various activist-focused initiatives at Microsoft, <a href="https://consumersresearch.org/woke-alert/woke-alert-microsoft/">including</a> donations to transgender activist groups and “pay equity” analysis comparing pay based on race and sex.
“Consumers’ Research fully supports FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson and welcomes this antitrust investigation,” Hild said. “We hope it helps prevent corporate power from being abused to advance ideology at the expense of consumers.”
Joe Grogan, who led the Domestic Policy Council during Trump’s first term, said that an FTC investigation probing whether Microsoft employed anti-competitive practices was much needed.
“In the last year Microsoft has compromised American security by giving Chinese nationals access to cloud projects at the Pentagon,” he told The Daily Wire. “They&#8217;ve also signaled a strong willingness to bend to Europe&#8217;s anti-American digital services policies amid intense trade negotiations, all while pursuing anti-competitive practices to limit consumer choice. The administration is right to use its authority to hold them accountable.”
The comments from Grogan, the head of the nonprofit Public Policy Solutions, come as the FTC is looking into whether Microsoft makes it challenging for customers to use its products on rival cloud services.
Grogan also argued that Microsoft is <a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/industry/sovereign-cloud/overview/european-digital-commitments">strengthening</a> its ties to Europe while the European Union implements the Digital Services Act, a sweeping speech-regulation law that allows authorities to penalize companies for failing to remove so-called misinformation or other content deemed illegal.

DailyWire Photo Illustration // Getty Images

Federal Trade Commission’s Microsoft Probe Draws Widespread Praise

Communist China

Executive

Federal Trade Commission

Microsoft

U.S.

US-ENVIROMENT-SEWAGE-POTOMAC

DEI Disaster: Washington D.C. Is Now Literally Flooded With Poop

Drinking Water

Maryland

Matt Walsh

Opinion

potomac river

Washington D.C.

DC Water, the public utility responsible for the massive sewage spill in the Potomac River, focused much of its attention on environmentalism and diversity, equity, and inclusion goals in recent years.
The spill, considered one of the largest wastewater disasters in U.S. history, has placed DC Water&#8217;s DEI priorities in the spotlight. In 2021, DC Water became one of the first public utilities in the country to release a report on its Environmental, Social, and Governance priorities, a framework used by investors to measure a company’s commitments to leftist causes, including fighting &#8220;climate change.&#8221; Then, in February 2022, DC Water CEO David Gadis touted the utility’s emphasis on forming a leadership team made up mostly of minorities and women.
“When I arrived at DC Water, this was an organization that looked very similar to our industry, and it was predominantly, you know, white male at the top,” said Gadis, who was tapped as DC Water’s CEO in 2018. “But this was a utility that more than 70% people of color worked at this utility, and I really believe and I still believe — the outcomes have been fantastic — that the people at the top, the executives, the chiefs in that C-suite, they should look like the employees that they serve and they work with.”
Gadis made the comments on DEI during an appearance on a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhIodoQiLnk&amp;t=43s">show</a> hosted by the American Water Works Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring safe water.
“So my executive team looks exactly like the community, it looks like the employees, the staff, be it people of color, women, men,” Gadis added. “It is just a fantastic team that has come together to do a lot of great things here at DC Water and in the community for the customers.”
Asked by American Water Works CEO David LaFrance to describe what his executive team “looks like,” Gadis replied, “We have three women, three women of color, and we have five males total. And of those five males, three of them are of color. And then we have two males that are caucasian. So we are getting that total cross-sectional conversation that’s occurring.”
<div id="attachment_1045859" style="width: 929px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1045859" class="wp-image-1045859 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/DC-Water-919x576.png" alt="" width="919" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/DC-Water-919x576.png 919w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/DC-Water-300x188.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/DC-Water-768x481.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/DC-Water.png 1206w" sizes=" (max-width: 919px) 100vw, 919px" />DC Water CEO David Gadis and Board Chair Dr. Unique Morris-Hughes are joined by Mayor Muriel Bowser to celebrate the launch of the machine to help reduce wastewater flow into the Potomac River on November 4, 2025 / Screenshot: Instagram/D.C. Department of Employee Services</div>
DC Water&#8217;s sewage spill debacle comes just one month after a public utility in Nashville was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tennessee-senator-declares-war-on-woke-nashville-power-company-after-week-long-outage?author=Virginia+Kruta&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Tennessee+Senator+Declares+War+On+%E2%80%98Woke%E2%80%99+Nashville+Power+Company+After+Week-Long+Outage">slammed</a> for its focus on DEI after an ice storm knocked out power for residents for weeks. Between 2023 and the beginning of 2024, the Nashville Electric Service held 102 DEI sessions &#8220;to foster a culture of civility and belonging within our organization with the hopes of extending that dynamic beyond our walls.&#8221; Last month, the electric service faced increased scrutiny for its delayed response to widespread power outages in Nashville.
The sewage spill, which began last month, has unleashed hundreds of millions of gallons of wastewater into the Potomac River, forcing authorities to issue alerts to residents in the nation’s capital, Maryland, and Virginia to avoid contact with the river as E.coli levels skyrocketed. DC Water said the disaster was caused by the partial collapse of the Potomac Interceptor sewer line, which resulted in a massive overflow of wastewater that made its way into the Potomac.
In just the first five days after the sewer line’s collapse, around 194 million gallons overflowed, DC Water <a href="https://www.dcwater.com/about-dc-water/media/news/dc-water-releases-key-findings-extent-sewer-overflow-and-potomac-river" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on February 6. In an update this week, the utility said that a total of 243.5 million gallons have spilled into the Potomac since January 19.
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116082091487085093" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expressed</a> frustration with state and local leaders over what he viewed as a slow response to the sewage spill. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he was directing federal authorities to take over the management of the sewage spill response, writing, “I cannot allow incompetent Local ‘Leadership’ to turn the River in the Heart of Washington into a Disaster Zone.”
Betsy Nicholas, president of the Potomac Riverkeeper Network, told <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5742741-potomac-river-sewage-spill-dc-virginia-maryland/">The Hill</a> that DC Water knew the collapsed sewer line needed to be repaired and &#8220;had money allocated for it.&#8221;
&#8220;It just seems … the whole pipeline collapsed before they were able to do any work on it,&#8221; Nicholas added.
Under Gadis, DC Water has also sought to award contracts to minority- and women-owned businesses, The Daily Caller <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2026/02/17/david-gadis-dc-water-sewage-spill-diversity-dei-flint-michigan-water-crisis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> on Tuesday. In fiscal year 2024 alone, DC Water awarded women-owned and “disadvantaged” businesses around $520 million of its $1.33 billion in total awards. Gadis also believes it’s important for the utility to have a “diverse workforce” to establish “trust” with homeowners who “like to see people that look like them and walk like them.”
The Daily Wire reached out to DC Water for comment.
The massive sewage spill also marks a rough spot for a utility that <a href="https://www.dcwater.com/sites/default/files/documents/2021-12/DC%20Water%20ESG%20Report%202021.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vowed</a> to provide “high quality water services in a safe, environmentally friendly, and efficient manner.”
In its 2021 <a href="https://www.dcwater.com/sites/default/files/documents/2021-12/DC%20Water%20ESG%20Report%202021.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESG report</a>, DC Water said it was “committed to finding renewable energy solutions for our energy demand to mitigate our contribution to climate change.” The utility also said it was “committed to providing healthy water throughout our operations,” and “dramatically reduce the amount of solids, nitrogen, and phosphorous in the cleaned water we return to the Potomac to protect our local rivers and the Chesapeake Bay.”
The Environmental Protection Agency, led by Administrator Lee Zeldin, said that DC Water had not yet reached out for federal help despite the massive scale of the disaster.
“The Potomac Interceptor overflow is a sewage crisis of historic proportion. Never should any American family, community, or waterway ever have to experience this level of extensive environmental damage,” Zeldin <a href="https://x.com/epaleezeldin/status/2023870910365941812" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> in a post on X on Tuesday. “This mess must be completely addressed as fast as humanly possible, and the Trump EPA stands ready, motivated, and highly capable to assist in any way possible to fulfill President Trump’s strong desire to END this disaster.”
Water testing in the Potomac River earlier this week revealed E.coli levels hundreds of times higher than what the EPA considers safe, DC Water officials <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/potomac-river-e-coli-levels-skyrocket-240-million-gallons-sewage-pour-rcna259420">said</a>. Local authorities have assured residents, &#8220;There is no impact to the drinking water supply,&#8221; as the sewer and water systems &#8220;are completely separate.&#8221;

Ahead Of ‘Sewage Crisis Of Historic Proportion,’ DC Water Officials Were Focused On DEI

D.C. Utility Responsible For Disastrous Potomac Sewage Spill Is Steeped In DEI And Environmentalism

Environmentalism

Goldman Sachs plans to scrap its race, sex, and other DEI factors when considering potential additions to its board of directors.
The board’s governance committee made the decision to axe DEI metrics from its list of qualifications for new board members after striking an agreement with the National Legal and Policy Center, a conservative nonprofit, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/finance/goldman-sachs-board-dei-57fea527?mod=hp_lead_pos2">The Wall Street Journal</a>.
The committee has four broad factors it considers when looking for new board members, one of which is a demographic profile that includes viewpoints, military service, and other markers, as well as DEI variables such as a person’s race, sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Going forward, the committee plans to strip away the DEI calculations from its rubric for board candidates.
The National Legal and Policy Center has a small ownership stake in Goldman Sachs and in September, proposed that the committee strip away the DEI component of its board member criteria. The center had requested that the bank share the proposal with shareholders ahead of its annual shareholder meeting scheduled for this spring, but Goldman Sachs struck an agreement with the center that involved pulling the proposal and the bank scrapping its DEI metrics anyway.
Goldman Sachs had last year dropped its DEI requirements for companies that wanted the bank’s help in listing for an IPO.
Goldman Sachs’ curbing of its own DEI policies comes as the Trump administration has pursued policies to push such metrics out of the federal government while wielding federal powers to push companies to distance themselves from DEI as well. President Donald Trump, on his first day of his second term, took a stand against DEI, ordering federal departments and agencies to begin cutting DEI positions in the government.
The president also directed federal agencies to look into companies with DEI policies for potential discriminatory practices. In February of last year, the president <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-targets-two-financial-firms-over-dei-and-esg-push">took</a> aim at two financial firms, Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis, that the president said were pushing racial quotas and climates activism on numerous other companies.
At the time, both firms had guidelines that had the potential to impact a wide swath of companies that encouraged them to adopt DEI criteria in promotions to their board. They also had similar guidelines directing companies to take steps to address climate change.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Goldman Sachs Will No Longer Judge Board Members By DEI Metrics

Business

Goldman Sachs

Social Issues

A conservative legal firm is asking the federal government to reveal the truth about the creation of a race-focused organ transplant policy developed by the Biden administration. 
America First Legal <a href="https://media.aflegal.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/06111524/AFL-v-HHS-Complaint.pdf">sued</a> the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services earlier this month seeking information on the creation of the model that requires organizations that oversee the transplant process to prioritize &#8220;equity.&#8221; The suit says that the departments have not complied with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests seeking documents on the model’s creation. 
“Biden officials embedded race into organ transplant policy and rebranded discrimination as ‘equity.’ This FOIA lawsuit seeks to expose the outside influence behind the IOTA Model, including the communications and meetings that shaped this program,” said America First Legal lawyer Megan Redshaw.
The policy in question is the Increasing Organ Transplant Access (IOTA) model, which took effect in July 2025 after being implemented in the waning days of Joe Biden&#8217;s presidency. The model is set to be in place for six years.
The rule says that the federal government wanted to <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/12/04/2024-27841/medicare-program-alternative-payment-model-updates-and-the-increasing-organ-transplant-access-iota">increase</a> “equity in kidney transplantation by creating performance-based incentive payments for participating kidney transplant hospitals tied to” kidney transplant access.
Citing Biden’s <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/25/2021-01753/advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government">executive order</a> on embedding “racial equity” policies in the federal government, organ procurement organizations are required to submit health equity plans “to address health outcome disparities.” Organ procurement organizations are federally designated non-profits that oversee the organ transplant process. 
The goal of the model was to address “health equity problems” through “financial incentives that reward IOTA participants that improve their kidney organ offer acceptance rate ratios over time and hold them financially accountable for not doing so.”
In August 2025, America First Legal requested documentation from HHS and CMS on whether any organ procurement organizations were involved in the creation of the model. Two organizations mentioned in the lawsuit were the United Network for Organ Sharing and the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations.
The Association of Organ Procurement Organizations said it had no comment on the litigation and that it was not involved in the creation of the model. 
The association told The Daily Wire that it “was not involved in CMS’s development of the IOTA Model. Like many stakeholders, AOPO has participated in formal public comment opportunities on proposed federal policies affecting organ donation and transplantation.”
The request to HHS was submitted on August 18, 2025, and the request to CMS was submitted the same day. America First Legal’s suit says that it has received no records or any communication from HHS or CMS apart from an initial acknowledgment the day the request was submitted. 
“The American people have a right to know who helped design that agenda, who pushed it, and what role outside stakeholders played in shaping policy that governs life-and-death decisions,” said Redshaw. 
HHS told The Daily Wire that it does not comment on pending litigation.

MixCollage-13-Feb-2026-12-14-PM-2184

Could This Be The End Of Race-Based Organ Transplants?

Department of Health and Human Services

Equity

Joe Biden

Organ Donation

“Got Woke? Knoxville Symphony does.” 
That message will be emblazoned on a mobile billboard and greet attendees of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra as they arrive for a romantic date night featuring Valentine’s Day-themed music on Thursday and Friday. 
The mobile billboard seeks to spotlight a renowned clarinet player&#8217;s fight to remove DEI from the world of professional music and arrives courtesy of the Coolidge Reagan Foundation, a conservative nonprofit. James Zimmermann, the clarinetist, filed a lawsuit in December, accusing the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra of refusing to hire him based on his opposition to DEI. 
Zimmermann told The Daily Wire he won a blind audition for the principal clarinet position in September 2025 and was told by staff he would soon be on salary, only to have that opportunity fall away a few days later once the orchestra learned of his <a href="https://freebeacon.com/culture/how-racial-anxiety-conquered-an-orchestra-and-crushed-a-career/">previous DEI battle</a> with the orchestra in Nashville. 
“This whole scenario is much bigger than just me and this one little job in Knoxville. It&#8217;s the demoralization that every white guy feels that, ‘Hey, these orchestras don&#8217;t want me.’ They have openly stated, ‘We need our orchestras to be more diverse.’ All that means is they want fewer white guys in the orchestra. It&#8217;s very obvious,&#8221; Zimmermann told The Daily Wire. 
Images shared with The Daily Wire by the Coolidge Reagan Foundation show the multiple messages that will appear on mobile billboard vehicles outside the Tennessee Theater from 3-11 p.m. On both days, the orchestra is performing a concert called “Star-Crossed Lovers” at 7:30 p.m.
The images include statements such as “DEI ≠ Fairness,” “Go Woke, Lose Talent,” and “Your Tax Dollars Fuel Woke DEI Policies at the Orchestra.” The Coolidge Reagan Foundation also launched a <a href="https://www.wokesymphony.com">website</a> to highlight Zimmermann&#8217;s story. 
<div id="attachment_1042819" style="width: 2570px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1042819" class="size-full wp-image-1042819" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/MixCollage-11-Feb-2026-04-46-PM-4128-scaled.jpg" alt="" width="2560" height="2560" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/MixCollage-11-Feb-2026-04-46-PM-4128-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/MixCollage-11-Feb-2026-04-46-PM-4128-300x300.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/MixCollage-11-Feb-2026-04-46-PM-4128-576x576.jpg 576w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/MixCollage-11-Feb-2026-04-46-PM-4128-150x150.jpg 150w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/MixCollage-11-Feb-2026-04-46-PM-4128-768x768.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/MixCollage-11-Feb-2026-04-46-PM-4128-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/MixCollage-11-Feb-2026-04-46-PM-4128-2048x2048.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" />Coolidge Reagan Foundation.</div>
According to a lawsuit filed by Zimmermann in Tennessee’s Sixth Judicial Circuit, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra refused to hire him based on his politics. Zimmermann is suing for compensation he would have earned had he been given the job. 
“The Orchestra engaged in racial discrimination against Mr. Zimmermann, violating the results of its own screened audition, in violation of the Tennessee Human Rights Act,” a copy of the lawsuit shared with The Daily Wire said. “Had Zimmermann not been a white male, particularly a white male who had previously expressed opposition to DEI initiatives, the Orchestra would have proceeded with hiring him consistent with the result of its screened auditions.”
<div id="attachment_1042821" style="width: 2570px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1042821" class="size-full wp-image-1042821" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/MixCollage-11-Feb-2026-04-47-PM-8822-scaled.jpg" alt="" width="2560" height="2560" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/MixCollage-11-Feb-2026-04-47-PM-8822-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/MixCollage-11-Feb-2026-04-47-PM-8822-300x300.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/MixCollage-11-Feb-2026-04-47-PM-8822-576x576.jpg 576w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/MixCollage-11-Feb-2026-04-47-PM-8822-150x150.jpg 150w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/MixCollage-11-Feb-2026-04-47-PM-8822-768x768.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/MixCollage-11-Feb-2026-04-47-PM-8822-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/MixCollage-11-Feb-2026-04-47-PM-8822-2048x2048.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" />Coolidge Reagan Foundation.</div>
After advancing through the screened audition process for the clarinet position, Zimmermann said Knoxville Symphony Orchestra personnel manager Mark Tucker informed him he had won, would soon be “on the payroll,” and would call him to follow up on September 17, 2025.
Instead, on September 18, Zimmermann says he received a phone call from the symphony&#8217;s CEO, Rachel Ford, who mentioned his previous musical job working for the Nashville Symphony. 
An email from Ford to Zimmermann, obtained by The Daily Wire, confirmed Zimmermann’s account. 
Ford told him in the email that “based on a number of items which have come to the attention of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra regarding your employment with the Nashville Symphony, I regret to inform you that the [Knoxville Symphony Orchestra] has decided not to move forward with offering you a contract of employment.”
She added that there would be no further discussions on the matter. 
“We wish you the best in the future. Please know our decision is final and we will not participate in any ongoing communications related to this matter,” she wrote. 
Neither Ford nor Tucker responded to requests for comment. 
The controversy referred to by Ford erupted roughly six years ago when Zimmermann started speaking out against DEI measures at the Nashville Symphony. Eventually, he was fired after two minority musicians, oboe player Titus Underwood and Emilio Carlo, <a href="https://freebeacon.com/culture/how-racial-anxiety-conquered-an-orchestra-and-crushed-a-career/">accused</a> him of harassing them and making threatening and racially charged comments to them.
In the end, Zimmermann was fired after 12 years as the lead clarinet player. Six of his colleagues would later defend him in interviews with the Washington Free Beacon. Zimmermann acknowledges that he was not perfect throughout the situation, but said his firing was prompted, in large part, by politics. 
As that played out, both Underwood and Carlo got a Davidson County judge to issue temporary restraining orders against Zimmermann. Zimmermann has called those restraining orders “bogus” and noted that they were not later renewed.
Carlo and Underwood did not respond to requests for comment. In a <a href="https://www.wbir.com/article/news/local/knoxville/james-zimmermann-sues-knoxville-symphony-orchestra-for-alleged-discrimination/51-59429c8d-5d6b-4aa9-86a3-6815006f322b">statemen</a>t to local outlet WBIR, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra cited the restraining orders. 
&#8220;The KSO made the decision to reject the Audition Committee’s recommendation and not hire Mr. Zimmermann due to legitimate safety concerns as confirmed by the Nashville Symphony,&#8221; the statement said. 
Zimmermann said that Ford did not mention the restraining orders during her call with Zimmermann, but instead said there were &#8220;items of interest&#8221; that he knew about. Zimmermann said he was never given a chance to explain his side of the story. 
“I have nothing bad to say about the people running the [audition]. It&#8217;s just about the CEO, who made the decision to not hire me, not ask me anything about the past, not ask my side of the story,” Zimmermann told The Daily Wire. “This is supposed to be the land of opportunity, and a blind audition gives you a chance to prove your skills, independent of your political views and race and gender and sex and all that.”
Zimmermann says he has heard from musicians all across the country who agree with him and have told him they hope the orchestra world abandons DEI once and for all.
Dan Backer, the president of the Coolidge Reagan Foundation, is a counsel for Zimmermann during the suit. 
“I&#8217;m just glad Coolidge Reagan is able to be there and keep the pressure on and make sure that everybody knows that when you set foot in Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, you&#8217;re not listening to the best music you could get, you&#8217;re listening to the wokest music you can get.”
On its website, the Knoxville Symphony <a href="https://knoxvillesymphony.com/aboutkso/history-mission/#:~:text=In%20May%202016%2C%20Aram%20Demirjian,Center%20and%20Washington%20Performing%20Arts.">boasts</a> that its programming emphasizes “music by living composers” and “artists from underrepresented groups.”
The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra <a href="https://knoxvillesymphony.com/support-the-kso/corporate-partners/#:~:text=generations%20to%20come.-,Sponsorship%20Opportunities,of%20concertgoers%20across%20East%20Tennessee.&amp;text=Knoxville%20Symphony%20Orchestra%20concerts%20and,%2C%20and%20Arts%20&amp;%20Culture%20Alliance.">receives</a> local and state taxpayer funding through the city of Knoxville, Knox County, and the Tennessee Arts Commission. It is unclear exactly how much the orchestra gets in grants. 
Neither the Nashville nor the Knoxville symphony orchestras responded to requests for comment.

hands playing clarinets in orchestra

He Won The Blind Audition — Then Woke Culture Took The Baton

Woke Music? Tennessee Orchestra Accused Of Targeting Clarinet Player Over DEI Stance

Classical Music

Music

High school student filling out test answers with pen

San Francisco Banned ‘Racist’ Algebra A Decade Ago. The Results Are Now In.

San Francisco Banned 'Racist' Algebra A Decade Ago. The Results Are Now In.

Blacks

College

Education

High School

Mathematics

Public Schools

Teenagers

Violence

Whites

The Department of War gave an ultimatum to Scouting America, formerly known as the Boy Scouts of America, to roll back its woke policies and DEI initiatives or lose its continued partnership with the military.
“From Day One at the War Department, we have made it very clear: No more DEI at DoW. Zero tolerance,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell shared in a statement posted to X. He went on to say that the department had been “reviewing its relationship” with the Boy Scouts after the organization had “lost its way.” 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
STATEMENT:
From Day One at the War Department, we have made it very clear: No more DEI at DoW. Zero tolerance.
As a result, over the past several months, the Department of War has been reviewing its relationship with Scouting America—formerly known as the Boy Scouts of America.…
— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) <a href="https://twitter.com/SeanParnellASW/status/2018495511360053609?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2026</a></blockquote>
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“[F]or more than a decade now, Scouting America&#8217;s leadership has made decisions that run counter to the values of this administration and this Department of War, including an embrace of DEI and other social justice, gender-fluid ideological stances. This is unacceptable,” the statement continued. 
He said their partnership with scouts, including support of the National Jamboree celebration, was in jeopardy, but now they are “near a final agreement&#8221; as Scouting America has “firmly committed to a return to core principles. Back to God and country—immediately!”
The statement concluded that Scouting America will continue to partner with the Department of War, provided it “rapidly implements” common sense reforms. “They are on the clock, and we are watching,” the post warned. 
Scouting America provided a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/02/03/hegseth-boy-scouts-scouting-america/">statement</a> to the Washington Post Tuesday evening, saying, “For nearly 116 years Scouting has stood as a cornerstone of American ideals, good citizenship, service, and adventure for American youth. We are encouraged by tonight’s social media post by the Pentagon, and we look forward to providing more details as we move ahead.”
In November, NPR <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/11/25/nx-s1-5615164/pentagon-scouting-hegseth-cut-ties">reported</a> that the Defense Department was planning to cut funding and support to Scouting America due to it becoming an organization designed to &#8220;attack boy-friendly spaces.” The documents allegedly criticized the organization for promoting DEI principles. One memo quoted Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as saying, &#8220;The organization once endorsed by President Theodore Roosevelt no longer supports the future of American boys.&#8221;
The Boy Scouts have long served as a natural bridge to the military. The Pentagon formally backed the organization beginning in 1937, supplying trucks, doctors, medics, logistical support, and even aviation demonstrations at the National Jamboree. For the military, it doubled as a valuable recruiting channel: Eagle Scouts routinely entered at higher ranks, and about 20% of service-academy cadets came from scouting backgrounds.
But that reputation changed over the years. The group rebranded itself from Boy Scouts to Scouts BSA in 2018 and became “Scouting America” in 2025. This was all in an effort to allow girls to join and be more inclusive, but ultimately led to drastic <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/boy-scouts-want-to-include-everyone-but-now-no-one-wants-to-join?author=Amanda+Harding&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Boy+Scouts+Want+To+Include+Everyone%2C+But+Now+No+One+Wants+To+Join">membership drops</a>.

Hegseth’s War Department Says Boy Scouts Must Roll Back Woke Or Lose Military Support

Pentagon Says Boy Scouts Will Roll Back Woke Policies, DEI Initiatives

Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is gunning for the Nashville Electric Service (NES) as thousands of Nashville residents remain without power — more than a week after Winter Storm Fern wreaked havoc on the area — and some may not see their power restored for another ten days.
Blackburn argued that NES had spent more time focusing on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives than on the kind of preparation that could have helped them manage a massive winter storm more efficiently.
&#8220;The Nashville Electric Service held 102 DEI-related training sessions by the end of 2024. They should’ve been using those resources to trim trees and bury utilities. This is what happens when companies put woke politics over the needs of the people they serve,&#8221; she <a href="https://x.com/MarshaBlackburn/status/2018009739926605839">posted</a> on Sunday.
Blackburn also sent a letter directly to NES demanding answers regarding the still unfolding situation in her home state — as well as a detailed plan explaining how the company planned to prevent anything similar from happening again.
&#8220;The failure to adequately prepare for Winter Storm Fern is precisely the reason line crews are working overtime and citizens are clearing limbs and debris at great risk to their own safety to help friends and neighbors,&#8221; Blackburn wrote in the letter. &#8220;This disruption (crew members in the field) are working to correct reflects a failure of leadership and planning, one that could have been mitigated with thoughtful preparation ahead of the storm. You owe your customers transparency, accountability, and a clear explanation of how this breakdown occurred and how you will prevent this from happening in the future.&#8221;
Blackburn gave NES a deadline of February 2 and laid out six key questions she wanted addressed. She posted the letter itself on X, adding, &#8220;By failing to properly prepare for Winter Storm Fern, @NESpower put Tennesseans in harm’s way. NES owes its customers transparency, accountability, and a clear explanation for why thousands of people remain without power. I’m demanding answers to ensure this can’t happen again.&#8221;
<ol>
<li>&#8220;According to reporting by The Tennessean, experienced linemen offered to aid with storm recovery, but Nashville Electric Service declined the offer, stating it already had sufficient resources. Why did NES turn down that offer for additional personnel during a widespread outage of this magnitude?&#8221;</li>
<li>&#8220;Given the lessons learned from past devastating storms, such as Nashville’s 1994 ice storm, why was NES not adequately prepared for Winter Storm Fern, despite ample warning and clear historical precedent?&#8221;</li>
<li>&#8220;Forecasts warned days in advance that this would be a generational severe weather event. Why were recovery operations and service restoration plans not fully prepared and mobilized ahead of time?&#8221;</li>
<li>&#8220;Why has there been such inconsistency in power restoration updates, with many customers being told their power has been restored when it has not, particularly given NES’s acknowledgment that it recently implemented a new outage notification and tracking system?&#8221;</li>
<li>&#8220;Residents in some areas have been told they may be without power for up to two weeks. How does NES consider that timeline acceptable, especially for residents who rely on electricity for life-sustaining medical equipment and other critical needs?&#8221;</li>
<li>&#8220;Due to extended outages, many residents had no choice but to seek temporary lodging. Will NES be reimbursing customers for expenses incurred during this period?&#8221;</li>
</ol>
NES responded to Blackburn&#8217;s letter on Saturday, and the Tennessee Senator posted that letter as well — and said that their answers were not good enough.
&#8220;@NESPower&#8217;s response to my letter is entirely insufficient. The company refused to take any accountability and is forcing Tennesseans to wait another week for full restoration of power. This is unacceptable. Whoever is responsible for this breakdown should be fired,&#8221; she said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/NESpower?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NESpower</a>’s response to my letter is entirely insufficient. The company refused to take any accountability and is forcing Tennesseans to wait another week for full restoration of power.
This is unacceptable. Whoever is responsible for this breakdown should be fired. <a href="https://t.co/ptaDtZC9mi">pic.twitter.com/ptaDtZC9mi</a>
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarshaBlackburn/status/2017996925975609468?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2026</a></blockquote>
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In the letter, NES explained that half of the people in their entire service area (about 230,000) had lost power when the storm first hit, and that power had been restored to all but 44,000 of them. The remaining homes without power, NES assured Blackburn, would be back online within another week.
But some individual cases may prove to be more difficult, as one local investigative reporter described a situation currently affecting a viewer who had written him: &#8220;Wow! From viewer regarding Nashville Electric Service issue: &#8216;We can’t report an outage at a single residence after others around us have been restored. We report it, and the system immediately responds that it has been restored. Neighbors have power, but we have not due to a line down in the back yard. If it doesn’t stay on the NES list as needing repair, we may never get power restored. We have been in our house for 6+ days without power, like the rest of Nashville. It’s 38-40 degrees in the house. We run a generator intermittently, and we are doing better than most. But to not be able to reliably report an outage is absurd.'&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Wow! From viewer regarding Nashville Electric Service issue: “We can’t report an outage at a single residence after others around us have been restored. We report it, and the system immediately responds that it has been restored. Neighbors have power, but we have not due to a… <a href="https://t.co/bH9E6k7JLm">pic.twitter.com/bH9E6k7JLm</a>
— Phil Williams (@PhilNvestigates) <a href="https://twitter.com/PhilNvestigates/status/2017399479444365402?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 31, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Blackburn made it clear on Sunday that she was frustrated with the leadership at NES, not the rank and file employees.
&#8220;The linemen who are on the ground making repairs and working in the frigid temperatures to restore power are the unsung heroes of the response to this horrible winter storm. So grateful for these men and women,&#8221; she said.

Tennessee Senator Declares War On ‘Woke’ Nashville Power Company After Week-Long Outage

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