U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi ended federal lawsuits that the Biden administration had filed against local police and fire departments over their merit hiring policies.
Under the Biden administration, the DOJ’s Office of Civil Rights sued local first responders for refusing to hire based on race and instead hiring based on merit only.
“Despite no evidence of intentional discrimination – only statistical disparities – the prior administration branded the aptitude tests at issue in these cases as discriminatory in an effort to advance a DEI agenda,” the DOJ said in a news release. “And it sought to coerce cities into conducting DEI-based hiring in response and spending millions of dollars in taxpayer funds for payouts to previous applicants who had scored lower on the tests, regardless of qualifications.”
President Donald Trump signed executive orders ending Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies in the federal government, and Bondi’s decision this week is the latest chapter in that ongoing anti-DEI effort under the new administration.
Bondi’s office said the DEI policies are a threat to public safety and signaled this was an “early start” to more actions of this kind.
“American communities deserve firefighters and police officers to be chosen for their skill and dedication to public safety – not to meet DEI quotas,” said Attorney General Bondi.