The University of Southern California canceled a high-profile gubernatorial primary debate just hours before it was set to take place following backlash over the event’s lack of racial diversity among invited candidates. The debate, scheduled for Tuesday and hosted by USC’s Dornsife Center for the Political Future, was scrapped after criticism that the selection criteria excluded several candidates of color.
The original lineup featured six candidates: Republicans Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco, and Democrats Tom Steyer, Katie Porter, Eric Swalwell, and Matt Mahan. Absent were several established Democratic candidates of color, including former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, former State Controller Betty Yee, and State Superintendent Tony Thurmond.
USC had initially defended its selection process, saying invitations were based on a “data-driven” formula developed by a university professor that weighed polling and fundraising. But critics argued the methodology produced a skewed outcome in a crowded race with no clear frontrunner.
The controversy escalated after California legislative leaders <a href="https://x.com/Elex_Michaelson/status/2036275609316499957">demanded</a> the university expand the debate field. “Every excluded leading candidate—Xavier Becerra, Betty Yee, Tony Thurmond, and Antonio Villaraigosa—is a person of color,” lawmakers wrote in a letter to USC President Beong-Soo Kim. “When a methodology produces this outcome … the burden falls on USC to explain itself, not on everyone else to accept it.” The letter went further, calling on voters to boycott the event if the university refused to revise its criteria.
“If USC does not do the right thing, we call on California voters to boycott this debate,” the lawmakers wrote. “If the university will not give voters a fair shot at evaluating everyone running for governor, voters should find other ways to learn about the candidates.”
Despite standing by the formula’s academic backing, USC ultimately <a href="https://apnews.com/article/california-governor-debate-usc-candidates-bias-91539c81a8ecaf8612c0eacd04dc1312">reversed course</a> late Monday, announcing the debate would be canceled after organizers failed to reach an agreement on expanding the stage. “We recognize that concerns about the selection criteria … have created a significant distraction from the issues that matter to voters,” the university said in a statement.
The decision comes amid an unusually crowded and fluid race to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom, with no candidate <a href="https://www.270towin.com/2026-governor-polls/california">polling</a> above 20% in the last month and multiple contenders clustered within single digits of one another. That lack of a clear frontrunner has heightened the stakes around debate access, with candidates arguing that exclusion from major forums could significantly impact voter awareness in a low-information primary.
California’s primary system adds another layer of complexity. Under the state’s “top-two” format, all candidates, regardless of party, appear on the same ballot, and only the two candidates who receive the most votes advance to the general election. That structure has raised concerns among Democrats that a fragmented field could allow two Republicans to advance if the vote is split.
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, whose inclusion drew particular scrutiny due to his late entry into the race and strong fundraising from <a href="https://localnewsmatters.org/2026/02/14/matt-mahan-billionaire-tech-donors-california-governor/">wealthy donors</a>, said canceling the debate was the wrong approach. “The answer isn’t to cancel debates, it’s to hear all voices,” he wrote on <a href="https://x.com/MattMahanSJ/status/2036437715823239453">X</a>.
Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, one of the excluded candidates, praised the decision. “USC made the right call, even if it came late and under pressure,” he wrote in a <a href="https://x.com/AVillaraigosa/status/2036421070748787047">post</a> after the decision.
The tension surrounding how institutions balance data-driven decision-making with political and social considerations is not unfamiliar in California, a state where <a href="https://www.govops.ca.gov/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/#:~:text=California%20has%20taken%20action%20to%20embed%20equity,methodologies%20and%20opportunities%20to%20advance%20racial%20equity">diversity</a> is treated as a central benchmark of legitimacy. In this case, sadly, a formula designed to measure candidate viability ended up triggering the very kind of equity concerns it was meant to avoid, ultimately leaving voters with no debate at all.
The California gubernatorial primary election will be held on June 2, 2026.

Peak California: USC Backs Out Of Gov Debate Over Lack Of Diversity

California

Debates

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Elections

Gavin Newsom

The nation’s top medical school accreditor has updated its standards, removing language related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) requirements without issuing a formal public announcement.
The <a href="https://lcme.org/about/">Liaison Committee on Medical Education</a> (LCME), which accredits medical schools across the United States, recently uploaded its updated 2027–2028 standards to its website. The <a href="https://donoharmmedicine.org/2026/03/24/dei-mandates-lcme-standards/">changes</a> were first flagged by the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/opinion/a-welcome-setback-for-medical-dei-fbac8fa0">Wall Street Journal</a>.
Among the most notable revisions is the overhaul of Standard 7.6, which in the 2026–2027 guidelines required that “the medical curriculum provides opportunities for medical students to learn to recognize and appropriately address biases in themselves, in others, and in the health care delivery process.”
The prior standard went further, mandating that medical students be taught about “the importance of health care disparities and health inequities,” the “impact of disparities in health care on all populations,” and “approaches to reduce health care inequities.” It also required instruction in “culturally and structurally competent health care” and emphasized training to treat patients in a “multidimensional and diverse society.”
In the newly published standards, that language has been removed entirely. The updated version of Standard 7.6 contains no reference to diversity, bias, disparities, or inequities.
More broadly, much of Standard 7 was rewritten and reorganized, with all references to bias and inequities stripped from the section. The 2027–2028 standards document is dated March 13 and indicates the changes were made in March 2026, though the LCME has not publicly announced the revisions. The prior 2026–2027 standards, which include the original language, remain available on the organization’s website.
The rollback follows years of scrutiny from the medical watchdog group Do No Harm, which has criticized the role of DEI requirements in medical education. <a href="https://donoharmmedicine.org/2023/01/12/is-the-lcme-forcing-racial-quotas-on-medical-schools/">In 2023</a>, the group called for an investigation into the LCME, and in March 2025 released a report highlighting accreditation standards, including Sections 3.3 and 7.6, that it said promoted ideological priorities over merit-based training.
The changes come after President Donald Trump signed an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/reforming-accreditation-to-strengthen-higher-education/">executive order</a> aimed at reforming higher education accreditation, specifically naming the LCME and raising concerns about politicized standards. Shortly afterward, in May 2025, the LCME <a href="https://donoharmmedicine.org/2025/05/28/the-lcme-eliminates-key-diversity-requirement/">removed</a> Standard 3.3, which had required medical schools to maintain programs or partnerships focused on achieving diversity. At the time, however, Standard 7.6 remained in place.
The latest revisions appear to further that shift. “Do No Harm commends the LCME for finally removing the remaining DEI language from the latest version of its standards,” said Dr. Kurt Miceli, the organization’s chief medical officer, in a statement obtained by The Daily Wire. “This reflects a renewed commitment to high-quality clinical care over political ideology.”
“As a powerful institution with significant influence over medical education, the LCME has now made clear that scientific rigor and excellence are the top priorities — a change we have been advocating for years,” Miceli added. “This marks a major victory and step forward in the ongoing battle over the future of medical education in America.”
The LCME did not publicly comment on the changes or issue a press release announcing the updated standards. Critics say the changes reflect how rapidly the standards governing medicine and education are shifting amid <a href="https://www.highereddive.com/news/trump-end-dei-state-of-the-union/813091/">political and regulatory pressure</a>. And given the LCME’s outsized role in determining whether medical schools remain accredited, even subtle changes to its requirements can have sweeping effects on how future physicians are trained.
With the removal of this language from both admissions-related and curriculum standards, the updated guidelines reflect a significant change in how the LCME frames its accreditation requirements. Supporters of the move say it refocuses medical education on clinical training, while critics have argued that such standards are important for addressing disparities in patient care.

Nurses

Medical Gatekeeper Faces Reckoning After Years Of ‘Woke’ Push

Do No Harm

Health Care

America’s nurses are too white and too female, according to the influential organization that purports to represent the interests of five million nurses nationwide. 
The American Nurses Association (ANA) has become fixated on race and embraced radical political ideology over the last few years, exemplified by the organization’s former president complaining about the “rows of white ladies” who head up nursing programs. The 130-year-old organization’s recent racial activism was flagged in a <a href="https://donoharmmedicine.org/wp-content/uploads/Activism-Not-Advocacy-Report.pdf">scathing report</a>, first shared with The Daily Wire, by Do No Harm. 
The association plays a key role in advocating for nurses by increasing research and funding, carrying out workplace advocacy, and advocating for better pay for nurses. The ANA is the membership arm of the American Nurses Association Enterprise. Despite its important function, Do No Harm argues the medical body has been infected with ideology, with an acceleration around the time of the 2020 riots. 
Do No Harm argues that the organization should revert to its former focus on representing nurses rather than pushing racial politics. 
“The ANA’s descent into extremism is alarming and has contributed to the indoctrination of our nation’s most important frontline workers,” Dr. Kurt Miceli, chief medical officer at Do No Harm, told The Daily Wire. “Instead of working to train and support hardworking nurses, the ANA has dedicated time and resources to promoting the ideas of radical activists. Nursing, at its core, is a profession that seeks to serve patients with compassion and foster healing.”
One of the culprits pushing the association to embrace racial ideology was the organization’s former president, Ernest Grant, now the vice dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion at Duke University School of Nursing, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ernest-grant-40725815/">according</a> to his LinkedIn. Do No Harm said that the politicization of the association increased during Grant&#8217;s leadership of the organization. 
After he was elected to head the organization, Grant said that he would be focused on encouraging “diversity in the nursing profession,” suggesting the nursing profession was too white and too female. 
“In 2015, only 19.5% of RNs in the workforce identified themselves as minorities, and only about 12% of baccalaureate and graduate nursing students in 2016 were men,” he <a href="https://www.myamericannurse.com/ana-president-ernest-grant/">said</a> in 2018. &#8220;It’s important that the nursing workforce reflects the diversity of our patient populations.”
Following the death of convicted felon George Floyd, Grant <a href="https://www.nursingworld.org/news/news-releases/2020/ana-president-condemns-racism-brutality-and-senseless-violence-against-black-communities/">said</a> that racism was a “longstanding public health crisis that impacts both mental and physical health” and that COVID impacted black people more than white people. He later <a href="https://www.nursingworld.org/news/news-releases/2021/american-nurses-association-responds-to-the-verdict-in-the-killing-of-george-floyd/">characterized</a> the unrest that followed the death of Floyd as “peaceful.” 
In an October 2021 <a href="https://www.fixinghealthcarepodcast.com/2021/10/10/fhc-38-ernest-grant/">podcast appearance</a>, Grant said that he liked to tell medical school officials to pretend to be a different race or gender to push their understanding of diversity. He also said he was “taking steps” to try to change how the nursing profession was predominantly white and female. 
He told deans and directors of nursing programs to “imagine themselves when they pull into their assigned parking space at their place of work, when they&#8217;re getting out of the car, take on another personality, take on like a person of color or another gender.”
“And as you&#8217;re walking into your building, look at what your particular school of nursing is saying to someone who may be from a different background or a different gender,” he continued. “Is it welcoming? Or do you just see rows and rows of white ladies who were deans, either they&#8217;re former deans or current deans of the program? What about your faculty? Does your faculty represent diversity? And are there people of color there? Are there men on the faculty there as well?”
“I mean, nursing is over 80% white and about 80% female, and of course, that&#8217;s what you see on TV. So, we are taking steps to try to change that by encouraging more nurses of color or people of color to go into nursing as a profession and more men as well to consider the nursing profession,” he added.
During Grant’s tenure, the American Nurses Association helped launch the National Commission to Address Racism in Nursing (NCARN) with the purpose of motivating “all nurses to confront individual and systemic racism.”
The organization <a href="https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/workforce/racism-in-nursing/national-commission-to-address-racism-in-nursing/">claims</a> that “racism is historically rooted in the nursing profession and continues today.” The organization blames the number of white nurses on “actions from predominantly white groups and others who may view themselves or their group as superior” and <a href="https://www.nursingworld.org/globalassets/practiceandpolicy/workforce/commission-to-address-racism/commission-vision-mission-.pdf">alleges</a> that white nurses &#8220;are advantaged and privileged by unfair structural and systemic practices.”
To define racism, the commission <a href="https://www.nursingworld.org/globalassets/practiceandpolicy/workforce/commission-to-address-racism/final-defining-racism.pdf">relies</a> on the work of radical leftist Ibram X. Kendi, the author of the book “How To Be An Anti-Racist.” The commission produced a list of the “Top Ten Ways to be an Antiracist in Nursing,” which ironically suggests that people should stop “labeling others” and “distribute power.” 
<div id="attachment_1064619" style="width: 1235px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1064619" class="size-full wp-image-1064619" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-2.39.51-PM.png" alt="" width="1225" height="635" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-2.39.51-PM.png 1225w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-2.39.51-PM-300x156.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-2.39.51-PM-1024x531.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-2.39.51-PM-768x398.png 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1225px) 100vw, 1225px" />American Nurses Association.</div>
In June 2022, the American Nurses Association put out a “racial reckoning” <a href="https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/workforce/racism-in-nursing/RacialReckoningStatement/">statement</a> that pledged the organization’s board of directors to “continue to reckon with and apologize for past harms that are made known to ANA,” and implement DEI analysis through all programs of the association. It said the association would continue to work with the commission to “create antiracist practices and environments,” implement DEI, and provide “transparency” to the racial makeup of the association’s leadership. 
Starting in March 2022, the ANA rolled out a series of trainings called “Equity in Action: Dismantling Racism in Nursing.” During one session, Georgetown dean of nursing Roberta Waite gave a presentation on “How do we ensure health equity in a society built on white supremacy and oppression?” Waite shared a slide placing “white supremacy” at the center of oppression surrounded by things like “capitalism,” “nationalism,” “religious supremacy,” “patriarchy,” and “heterosexual supremacy.” 
Another slide featured in her presentation included the “Intersectionality wheel of privilege.” The slide claims that white people are the most privileged in society. Waite <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG8FQZ3vzBw">claimed</a> that people in the “inner circle” of privilege have been “hypnotized” into thinking society is “merit-based.” 
<div id="attachment_1064623" style="width: 1214px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1064623" class="size-full wp-image-1064623" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-2.43.57-PM.png" alt="" width="1204" height="571" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-2.43.57-PM.png 1204w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-2.43.57-PM-300x142.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-2.43.57-PM-1024x486.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-2.43.57-PM-768x364.png 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1204px) 100vw, 1204px" />American Nurses Association.</div>
A separate presentation from San Diego State University assistant professor Danisha Jenkins was called “Is anti-racist care possible under capitalism?” and featured a quote from leftist Eleanor Marx, the daughter of communist Karl Marx.
<div id="attachment_1064625" style="width: 1420px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1064625" class="size-full wp-image-1064625" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-2.52.03-PM.png" alt="" width="1410" height="771" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-2.52.03-PM.png 1410w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-2.52.03-PM-300x164.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-2.52.03-PM-1024x560.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-2.52.03-PM-768x420.png 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1410px) 100vw, 1410px" />American Nurses Association.</div>
“America’s nurses should have an organization that is focused on supporting their training and development as world-class health care providers, not creating a training ground for foot soldiers in a political battle,” Miceli said. 
As documented by Do No Harm, interpretive statements in the ANA’s code of ethics for nurses have been updated from 2015 to 2025 to include political language. For example, the “Respect for Human Dignity” statement was updated with language on “ableism, ageism, classism, heterosexism, sexism,” and a statement of commitment to patients asserts that states have laws  that “prohibit treatment for persons who are pregnant, undocumented, uninsured, gender diverse, or otherwise disenfranchised, marginalized, or socially stigmatized.”
<div id="attachment_1064627" style="width: 902px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1064627" class="size-full wp-image-1064627" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-3.04.17-PM.png" alt="" width="892" height="936" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-3.04.17-PM.png 892w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-3.04.17-PM-286x300.png 286w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-3.04.17-PM-549x576.png 549w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-3.04.17-PM-768x806.png 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 892px) 100vw, 892px" />Do No Harm.</div>
While the 2015 statement contained zero references to “racism,” or “anti-racism,” the 2025 version contained 15 references to those words. Similarly, there were seven references to “allyship” when the original code did not mention the word at all. 
The ANA’s political action committee also has a history of donating more money to Democratic candidates. 
<div id="attachment_1064629" style="width: 973px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1064629" class="size-full wp-image-1064629" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-3.07.55-PM.png" alt="" width="963" height="683" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-3.07.55-PM.png 963w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-3.07.55-PM-300x213.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-3.07.55-PM-812x576.png 812w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-23-at-3.07.55-PM-768x545.png 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 963px) 100vw, 963px" />Do No Harm.</div>
In 2026, the American Nurses Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the American Nurses Association Enterprise, announced it would be handing out health equity awards. Applicants must “demonstrate an understanding of and embrace health equity, social justice, anti-racism, and cultural humility” and show how they advance “health equity.” 
While there are approximately 5 million nurses across the United States, there are only around 190,000 members of the American Nurses Association, according to an email obtained by Do No Harm.
Do No Harm said that nurses should fight back against the politicization of their profession 
“It’s up to nurses to take back their organization, and ultimately, their profession,” Do No Harm wrote in the report. “Nurses do have a substantial collective voice, and it is well past time to use it in defense of the profession.”

Close-up of caregiver holding senior client hand. Support from nurse to patient, taking care of elderly man in hospital. Emotional support and care in healthcare.

Inside Push To Make Nursing Less White And The Comment That Stands Out

Anti-Racism

medicine

Racism

America’s defense sector should be focused on one thing above all else: building the most effective weapons systems, technologies, and capabilities in the world. At a time of mounting geopolitical tension and growing threats from major adversaries, the companies responsible for equipping the United States military cannot afford to be distracted by the woke ideologies that have consumed so much of corporate America.
As Secretary of War Pete Hegseth often says, “We want you fighting real wars, not culture wars.”
That’s a conversation we’ve been having with America’s biggest defense contractors for the past year. As corporate engagement professionals, we represent a clientele that ranges from major nonprofits to ordinary American investors, all united around one cause: getting politics out of corporate America. 
Nowhere, with the possible exception of health care, is this more critical than in our defense sector. As America protects its interests against one of our most outspoken geopolitical rivals, it’s abundantly clear that the companies behind our most advanced military capabilities need to be focused on creating powerful, innovative, and effective defense technology that defies our enemies and ensures continued American dominance.
Yet, to look at the past several years of activism in corporate America, it’s not entirely clear we’ve all been on the same page about that. For years, activists have been pounding on the doors of the American boardroom, attempting to foist a plethora of profoundly absurd ideas onto the companies tasked with protecting the country.
Perhaps part of that willingness comes as a consequence of just how bad the ideas from the other side have been. Many have been putting <a href="https://www.dailysignal.com/2024/06/21/inside-bds-lefts-sneaky-targeting-israel-via-corporate-boardrooms/">anti-Israel proposals</a> on corporate ballots at companies, including Intel and Lockheed Martin, arguing for a reassessment of their relationship with Israel, and pushing for increasing numbers of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. These activists’ arguments are often simple, if not wildly anti-business: cut ties with Israel to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-esg-scores-became-the-new-weapon-in-the-war-on-israel">keep a good ESG score</a>. Implement more DEI initiatives or partnerships with organizations that <a href="https://www.dailysignal.com/2024/06/21/inside-bds-lefts-sneaky-targeting-israel-via-corporate-boardrooms/">push gender ideology</a>, in order to demonstrate good corporate citizenship. 
These arguments ignore the fact that Lockheed’s and Intel’s relationships with Israel are major drivers of business value. They do not address the brand damage created by controversial corporate partnerships and divisive DEI initiatives in the workplace. They do not address the obvious moral questions of withholding critical defense infrastructure from a nation fighting a war against terrorist organizations seeking their annihilation. They do, however, parrot standard-issue talking points while calling for these companies to ditch major investments or adopt diversity programming that is difficult to justify on fiduciary grounds.
DEI quotas. Divestment based on politics. Dubious gender transition treatments. What you might think, from looking at that fairly diverse (no pun intended) slate of demands, is that those are different coalitions trying to drag American businesses off course. And in certain ways, they are. But in a very critical way, they all share one idea in common: that the business of defending the homeland isn’t enough.
As a director of corporate engagement firm Bowyer Research, I meet with companies to defend the opposite idea: core business is enough — and the notion that you have to add abortion reimbursement or DEI questionnaires to a corporation to make it moral is beyond ridiculous. And, unsurprisingly, the defense sector’s been quite on board with that idea.
We’ve been having <a href="https://bowyerresearch.substack.com/p/our-message-to-lockheed-martin-we">conversations</a> on these issues with some of America’s most prominent federal contractors, such as Lockheed Martin, RTX, General Dynamics, and others, urging them to distance themselves from past DEI initiatives, continue saying no to anti-Israel activism, and prioritize their core business. This work has been driven by our clients, including nonprofits such as <a href="https://www.heritage.org/press/heritage-enhances-free-enterprise-efforts-new-initiative-and-expanded-team">The Heritage Foundation</a> and financial professionals such as <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/podcasts/capital-record/a-report-card-on-corporate-america/">David Bahnsen</a>, using their investment portfolios to engage with management at the companies they own.
This process, called corporate engagement, has, until recently, been almost exclusively the domain of left-of-center, ESG-aligned, DEI-aligned activist groups in past years. But no longer. The right-of-center is waking up and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/why-the-pro-sanity-coalition-is-winning-again-in-corporate-america?author=Isaac+Willour&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Why+The+Pro-Sanity+Coalition+Is+Winning+Again+In+Corporate+America">having tremendous success</a> in rolling back many biased policies implemented in past years. And this momentum has only been helped by President Trump’s 2025 <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-radical-and-wasteful-government-dei-programs-and-preferencing/">executive order</a> rolling back government DEI initiatives. Lockheed Martin suspended identity-based employee workforce groups. RTX <a href="https://www.them.us/story/human-rights-campaign-hrc-northrop-grumman-rtx-weapons-manufacturers">exited</a> controversial public partnerships with groups such as the Human Rights Campaign, a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/corporate-america-quietly-backs-away-from-gender-ideology-for-children?author=Isaac+Willour&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Corporate+America+Quietly+Backs+Away+From+Gender+Ideology+For+Children">major promoter</a> of gender ideology. Boeing disclosed it would no longer incorporate DEI into its executive pay structure. And Texas Instruments <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/podcasts/capital-record/a-report-card-on-corporate-america/">stopped</a> using the Southern Poverty Law Center’s ‘hate group’ list, which <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-the-southern-poverty-law-center-poisoned-corporate-america?author=Isaac+Willour&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=How+The+Southern+Poverty+Law+Center+Poisoned+Corporate+America">smears</a> mainstream conservative organizations like Turning Point USA and Alliance Defending Freedom as hateful, to vet charities.
Engaging with the defense sector about returning to political neutrality has largely been a good-faith effort. Companies have been willing to have serious conversations about making changes. Why? Beyond compliance, our engagement is often seen as a breath of fresh air — a welcome change from the activists who want defense companies to divest from our allies, adopt DEI agendas, and… do less defense. This is corporate engagement at its best: in our uncertain world, and amid a multiplicity of threats to the American way of life, genuine investors are asking companies to reaffirm and stand by their core business model: national defense, and with it the continuation of the greatest nation in the history of our species.
You don’t need supplier quotas or activist pledges to run that play. You need grit, determination, and merit to run that play with the American people in mind. And right now, America’s defenders are doing just that.
* * *
Isaac Willour is the director of corporate engagement at Bowyer Research, representing institutional investors before America’s biggest companies. He writes frequently on issues pertaining to business, faith, and culture, and can be found on X <a href="https://x.com/IsaacWillour">@IsaacWillour</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

FRANCE-POLITICS-DEFENCE-US-LOCKHEED

America’s Defense Sector Is Ditching DEI At The Best Possible Moment

Corporations

Defense

Department of War

Lockheed Martin

Opinion

Pentagon

Woke Culture

Hospitals across the country are still pushing woke policies, despite a nationwide backlash against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), a watchdog warned Congress. 
Consumers’ Research said lawmakers must hold hospitals receiving federal tax privileges accountable for pushing racially-focused initiatives and transgender procedures on kids, according to a <a href="https://consumersresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CR_Woke_Hospital_Letter_EC_Final.pdf">letter</a> obtained by The Daily Wire. The letter came ahead of a congressional hearing on Wednesday morning by the House Energy and Commerce committee on improving healthcare transparency. 
“As nonprofit hospitals keep prioritizing divisive woke ideology, Congress must hold them accountable,” Consumers’ Research Executive Director Will Hild told The Daily Wire. “Federal funding and tax-exempt privileges should never be used by hospitals to advance a radical political agenda.”
“When hospitals go unchecked with access to taxpayer dollars, consumers are left footing the bill for woke policies that distract hospital support meant for patients. This pattern of waste and abuse at hospitals across the country needs to be stopped,” he added. 
Hild’s letter to House Committee on Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie and other committee members highlighted multiple examples of hospital systems he said were “using federal funding streams and taxpayer-sponsored resources to fund political agendas at the expense of patient care.”
An example in the letter included the California-based Kaiser Permanente, the largest private nonprofit healthcare organization in the country. The provider made headlines for ending transgender surgeries on children, but still has several racially focused initiatives in place. 
The aim of its <a href="https://kpcenterforblackhealth.org/">Center for Black Health and Wellness</a> is to “improve the health of our Black members, elevate their care experience, continue to build trust, create culturally responsive care, and best practices that can be shared across our organization and the health care community.”
Kaiser Permanente cites <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/study-saying-black-babies-more-likely-to-die-under-white-doctors-didnt-control-for-1-key-factor">questionable research</a> that black patients require black doctors for better health outcomes. It says the center is rooted in “equity” with the purpose of enhancing and expanding “the care of our Black patients.”
Another example cited in the letter included the University of California-San Francisco Benioff Children&#8217;s Hospital, which has a “Child and Adolescent Gender Center.” The <a href="https://www.ucsfbenioffchildrens.org/clinics/child-and-adolescent-gender-center">center</a> “offers comprehensive medical and psychological care, as well as advocacy and legal support, to transgender, nonbinary and gender-diverse children and adolescents.”
The clinic accepts patients between the ages of 3 and 17. 
“Before the onset of puberty, our care focuses strictly on social and emotional development, and we don’t offer gender-affirming medical treatments,” the clinic said. “Once a patient reaches puberty, gender-affirming medical treatments may be considered following a thorough mental health assessment by a gender specialist.”
The clinic offers puberty blockers to kids, treatments it claims are “reversible.” Groups like Do No Harm have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/taxpayer-funded-medical-school-promotes-reversible-puberty-blockers-for-kids">highlighted</a> how puberty blockers can permanently impact bone development, particularly density in the hip and spine.
Consumers’ Research has launched the &#8220;<a href="https://consumersresearch.org/badmedicine/">Bad Medicine</a>&#8221; campaign targeting health systems it says push woke politics. Last week, it <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-major-health-system-scrubbed-the-woke-from-its-website-it-hasnt-really-changed">highlighted</a> how the University of Miami Health System recently scrubbed DEI and transgender-related content from its website. 
Hild told lawmakers that hospitals should be held accountable for woke policies. 
“This isn’t isolated activism. These kinds of misguided and potentially illegal policies must be stopped,” Hild wrote. “It is imperative for patients that hospitals return to their core mission of patient care and use federal funding as it was intended.”

CA Attorney General Announces 49 Million Settlement With Kaiser Foundation Over Illegal Disposal Of Hazardous Waste

Despite Nationwide DEI Backlash, Hospitals Still Pushing Woke Policies

House of Representatives

Transgender

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.

img-sole-mia-rendering

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

Donald Trump

Hospitals

Miami

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

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

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.

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