Latest news with #equityand
The Guardian
16-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
US army and air force libraries ordered to comb stacks for books related to DEI
US army and air force libraries have been told to go through their stacks to find books related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), according to new memos obtained by the Associated Press. The orders from service leaders come about two weeks after the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, removed nearly 400 books from its library after being told by the office of the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, to get rid of those that promote DEI. The latest army and air force orders are part of the Trump administration's far-reaching efforts to purge so-called DEI content from federal agencies. The memos suggest that any removal of books will only happen after the initial lists are reviewed more closely. That slower pace may reflect a desire to be more careful about what books are pulled from shelves after the navy faced criticism over some of those it removed. Books on the Holocaust, histories of feminism, civil rights and racism, as well as Maya Angelou's famous autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, were among the 381 books that were removed from the US Naval Academy's Nimitz Library. The army memo was sent to the US Military Academy at West Point, New York, the Army War College in Pennsylvania and several other service departments. It says they must review their collections and any books promoting DEI, gender ideology and critical race theory 'in a manner that subverts meritocracy and unity' must be removed 'pending additional guidance'. The memo – signed by Derrick Anderson, acting assistant army secretary for manpower – says a list must be provided to the army's chief librarian by Wednesday. The order also applies to libraries under the authority of the army's training and doctrine command, army special operations command and the army judge advocate general's legal center and school. The air force memo, meanwhile, directs the Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs, Colorado, to review all of its titles for anything related to DEI, gender ideology and critical race theory. The school must provide an interim list by 30 April and a final list by 30 May. That memo was signed by Gwendolyn DeFilippi, the acting assistant air force secretary for manpower, and did not specify other libraries within the air force. The three military academies had not been included in Donald Trump's executive order in January that banned DEI instruction, programs or curriculum in kindergarten through 12th grade in schools that receive federal funding. That is because the academies are colleges. But when Pentagon leaders realized that gap, they initially ordered the Naval Academy to review and remove books and soon after gave the same directive to the other services. In a statement, the air force said the academy is 'conducting a deliberate review' of the library to comply with department policies. Army Col Terry Kelley, a West Point spokesperson, said the school 'will complete the directed review with the utmost professionalism and efficiency'. Hegseth has aggressively pushed the department to erase DEI programs and online content, but the campaign has been met with questions from lawmakers, local leaders and citizens angry over the removal of military heroes and historic mentions from defense department websites and social media pages. In response, the department has scrambled to restore some of those posts as their removals have come to light.
The Hill
04-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Divided Supreme Court sides with Trump to block teacher grants
A divided Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration by allowing officials to block $65 million in teacher development grants frozen over concerns they were promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices. The 5-4 emergency ruling, for now, lifts a lower order that allowed the Education Department to resume the grants in eight Democratic-led states that are suing. Five of the court's six conservatives sided with the administration to grant the request. Chief Justice John Roberts and the court's three liberal justices dissented. The decision is not a final ruling in the case, and the dispute could ultimately return to the Supreme Court. In February, the administration began canceling disbursements under two federal education grants aimed at developing educators and combatting teacher shortages: the Teacher Quality Partnership Program and the Supporting Effective Educator Development Program. Officials have cast the freezes as part of the administration's broader crackdown on DEI, and it also comes as Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon look to effectively gut the department. U.S. District Judge Myong Joun, an appointee of former President Obama who serves in Boston, issued a March 10 temporary restraining order mandating the administration immediately resume the grant programs in the eight states. The Trump administration's Supreme Court emergency appeal comes after a three-judge panel on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to lift Joun's ruling. The administration has filed a series of such applications urging the justices to rein in lower courts that have blocked Trump's policies. 'Beyond the systemic, irreparable constitutional harm to the Executive Branch from judicial arrogation of executive functions as to how and when agencies will disburse or cancel grants, even the court of appeals acknowledged that the government 'may incur some irreparable harm if it cannot recoup this money,'' the Justice Department wrote in court filings. The states, whose lawsuit alleges applicable regulations don't permit the administration to stop the grant programs, noted the lower ruling is temporary and normally not appealable. 'The district court acted appropriately in granting a narrow and time-limited restraining order while it proceeds to a prompt ruling on the motion for a preliminary injunction. There is no sound basis for this Court to stay or vacate that order,' the states wrote. Led by California, the coalition also comprises Massachusetts, New Jersey, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, New York and Wisconsin. Their lawsuit now returns to the trial court, where Joun is mulling whether to grant a longer injunction after holding a Friday hearing. And it is just one of two lawsuits challenging the frozen teacher grants. A similar case filed by private education groups remains at a mid-level appeals court. The new ruling marks the Supreme Court's second emergency decision implicating the second Trump administration's sweeping efforts to cut aspects of federal spending. In March, the court in a 5-4 decision rejected the administration's request to freeze $2 billion in foreign aid payments.
The Guardian
21-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Trump is abandoning democracy and freedom. That creates an opening for Europe – and Britain
Thanks to Donald Trump, a vacancy is opening up in the international jobs market. For decades, if not centuries, and always imperfectly, the US offered itself to the world as the guarantor of democracy and the land of the free. Now that it's pivoting away from that job description, there's an opportunity for someone else to step in. The evidence that the US is moving, even galloping, away from basic notions of democracy and freedom is piling up. Just because the changes have happened so fast doesn't make them any less fundamental. We now have a US administration that blithely ignores court rulings, whose officials say out loud 'I don't care what the judges think'. In a matter of weeks, it has become an open question whether the US remains a society governed by the rule of law. In the name of defeating 'woke' and diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, even historic efforts to advance civil rights are disdained or banished into the memory hole: this week it emerged that an army webpage celebrating Harry Truman's 1948 order to integrate the military had disappeared, along with several others honouring distinguished Black soldiers. When asked about it, the press secretary at the Pentagon said: 'DEI is dead at the defense department.' As for the Department of Education, this week Trump moved to abolish it altogether. But if the US is being upended by the Trump hurricane, so is everywhere else in its path, including those places that once looked to the US with admiration. We can all see the coercion of Ukraine into accepting a supposed peace that will require it to surrender its territory to Vladimir Putin and its minerals to Trump. Less visible is the way in which the scything of the US federal government by Trump and Elon Musk is aiding Putin's assault on Ukraine's most vulnerable people – its children. Among the US projects cut is a state department initiative to collect evidence of Russian war crimes, including the abduction of more than 20,000 Ukrainian children, many of them sent to Russia for forced adoption. Now there are fears that that information, which might have helped find the children and eventually reunite them with their parents, has been lost, destroyed by the Musk chainsaw. Captain America thought he was a superhero; turns out he's the villain's accomplice. Now it is those contemptuous of democracy who look to the US for inspiration. This week, Benjamin Netanyahu broke a ceasefire he had agreed with Hamas, resuming devastating airstrikes on Gaza, killing hundreds of Palestinians, in part because he doubtless presumed Trump would give him no grief. But he also sacked the independent-minded head of Israel's domestic intelligence agency, the Shin Bet, the latest move in his ongoing attempt to remove every legal or constitutional constraint on his power. If that reminds you of someone, there's good reason. 'In America and in Israel, when a strong rightwing leader wins an election, the leftist Deep State weaponizes the justice system to thwart the people's will,' Netanyahu tweeted on Wednesday. 'They won't win in either place! We stand strong together.' Trump's authoritarian power grab is providing cover for others to do the same. This new role for the US, as a beacon of anti-democracy, is having some unintended consequences. Canada was on course to elect a Conservative government; now, by way of a backlash, the Liberals under Mark Carney look set to ride an anti-Trump wave to victory. However it operates, Trumpism is becoming a key determinant of politics the world over. Perhaps especially in Britain. For most of the last century, the US has been Britain's foremost ally. Put more baldly, London has all but relied on Washington for its own defence. Britain's military and intelligence systems are intricately integrated with those of the US; its nuclear capability is not operationally independent. These last two months, it has become obvious that that is no longer sustainable: Britain cannot rely on a US that behaves more like an enemy than a friend. That, in turn, creates a new political fact – we are in an age of rearmament – that will be the organising principle of Rachel Reeves's spring statement next week. It will require either deep cuts or new taxes. Trump has scrambled Britain's finances. By itself, that represents a monumental change. But it won't end there. Almost everything we do will need to be rethought. Much of that is cause for alarm – how can Nato function when its mightiest member has become an adversary? – but it also creates opportunities for Britain, if we are only willing to seize them. Take, as just one example, Trump's war on science. The US has long been the world leader in almost every field of research. But Trump and Musk are slashing or closing one research hub after another, whether at the National Institutes of Health or the Environmental Protection Agency, which could lay off thousands of talented scientists. The administration is threatening academic freedom, forcing US universities to bend to Trumpism or lose funding. This week, a French scientist travelling to the US for a conference was denied entry because, according to the French government, his 'phone contained exchanges with colleagues and friends in which he expressed a personal opinion on the Trump administration's research policy'. You read that right: the man was subjected to a random check at the airport, US officials went through his laptop and phone, found private messages speaking ill of the president and sent him back home. This is an opening for Britain, which should be promoting itself as a haven for free, unhindered scientific inquiry. The EU has already spotted the chance, and is devising a plan to lure US scholars. But the UK has the advantage of the English language; it should be first in line. Some see the opportunity, but sadly the UK government is not among them: petitioned to reduce upfront visa costs for overseas scientists, which is an average of 17 times higher than for comparable countries, ministers this week said no. But science is only one area where Britain could be taking up the slack. Trump is silencing the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe: the BBC should be given the relatively modest funds required to step in and do the job instead, thereby boosting British soft power at a stroke. The first step is understanding that the world has changed and that the old shibboleths no longer apply. It's absurd that Britain, home to Europe's biggest arms industry, is, thanks to Brexit, shut out of the new €150bn (£125bn) EU defence procurement fund, the latest example of how standing apart from its neighbours amounts to reckless folly in the Trump era. What the moment calls for is great boldness. It means Keir Starmer having the courage to tell the country that everything has changed and that we will have to change, too. Yes, that will involve painful sacrifices to pay for rearmament, and the breaking of political taboos, including listening to the majority of Britons who tell pollsters it's time we rejoined the EU. It adds up to a vision of a Europe that includes Britain, stepping into the space the US is vacating, guaranteeing and promoting free speech and democratic accountability at the very moment the US is abandoning those ideals. Trump has blasted the door open. All we have to do is walk through it. On 30 April, join Jonathan Freedland, Kim Darroch, Devika Bhat and Leslie Vinjamuri as they discuss Trump's presidency on his 100th day in office, live at Conway Hall London, and live streamed globally. You can book tickets here Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
James Uthmeier sworn in as Florida attorney general in Tallahassee ceremony
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday officially named James Uthmeier, his former chief of staff, as the next Florida Attorney General. Uthmeier, 37, was sworn in during a ceremony at the Old Capitol in Tallahassee. DeSantis called him a 'bulldog' who has been able to help take on high-profile political fights during his tenure as a top staffer in the governor's office. 'All throughout our administration James was always digging in, fighting for what was right, even when it wasn't easy,' DeSantis said. Before becoming chief of staff, Uthmeier served as general counsel to DeSantis as the state challenged federal mandates on masks and other COVID-19-era rules. DeSantis also lauded Uthmeier's efforts to combat critical race theory (CRT) and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in higher education, as well as his push against amendments on last year's ballot to legalize recreational marijuana and relax abortion restrictions. In remarks, Uthmeier pledged to 'champion an America First agenda,' fight drug cartels and combat 'activists.' 'We will not stand idly by while the left tries to infiltrate our institutions and uses the court system to indoctrinate our kids,' Uthmeier said. 'We will fight the activists that try to weaken our duly enacted laws, that try to challenge our constitutional order and that try to harm the unborn.' The attorney general position was open because DeSantis appointed Ashley Moody U.S. senator last month, replacing Marco Rubio, who was tapped by President Donald Trump to be U.S. secretary of state. DeSantis had said he intended to place Uthmeier in the Cabinet-level position, but wanted to wait until he completed wrangling with the Legislature over new bills cracking down on illegal immigration. After an initial pushback from GOP legislative leaders, the sides reached a compromise and DeSantis signed the bills into law last week. John Guard, the chief deputy attorney general, has been acting attorney general since Moody left. Jason Weida, the former secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration, took over Uthmeier's position as DeSantis' chief of staff. Uthmeier is a graduate of the University of Florida and Georgetown Law School. The ceremony was attended by more than 100 GOP officials and staffers, who were treated to the sounds of the UF marching band on the way into the Old Capitol, eliciting some 'Go Noles' responses from some attendees. He worked at the Jones Day law firm in Washington, D.C., and later as a senior advisor for the U.S. Department of Commerce during the first Trump administration. His first act in his new role will come soon: He was poised to join DeSantis and the rest of the Cabinet as the newly-created State Board of Immigration Enforcement at a meeting in Niceville later Monday afternoon. The board was created by the new immigration legislation. Gray Rohrer is a reporter with the USA TODAY Network-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at grohrer@ Follow him on X: @GrayRohrer. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: James Uthmeier, former DeSantis top aide, now Florida attorney general
The Hill
04-02-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
DEI leaders scramble to counter Trump actions
Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) proponents are scrambling to find ways to counter President Trump as he moves to dismantle some of the programs and policies intended to bolster their movement. Trump has signed multiple executive orders aimed at terminating DEI efforts in the federal government, including the military, and most recently took aim at DEI following the fatal plane crash at Reagan National Airport. Now Democrats and others who see DEI as essential to maintaining diversity in the ranks of government and other sectors are struggling to find ways to combat the administration's aggressive tactics. 'It is restoring barriers to equality, to opportunity and to access. When you take those things out, you are undermining the ability of the government … and you are ensuring that there is discrimination, that there is unfairness, that there is inequality,' Andrea Abrams, executive director of American Pride Rises (APR), told The Hill. Trump and Republicans have argued DEI is a discriminatory practice that wrongfully employs minorities while overlooking qualified candidates. In his inauguration speech, Trump said his administration would 'forge a society that is colorblind and merit-based.' He doubled down on this in his executive orders, where he labeled 'so-called' DEI programs 'dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences.' Advocates have pushed back on such assertions, instead saying the role of DEI is to help hedge discriminatory practices and outcomes toward protected communities noted under equal employment opportunity policies. 'The objective of these programs is to try and mitigate some of the still rampant, ongoing discrimination that's faced by people from certain communities,' said Dante King, an author and DEI proponent. King added that the backlash to DEI, though years in the making, stems from the last decade of gains Black Americans have witnessed, including the elections of former President Obama and Vice President Harris and the appointment of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. 'I think that there is a lot of white backlash because who we see as once being enslaved have been able to ascend to a position of influence and prominence, to be able to hold this white man — this famous, very rich, wealthy white man — accountable,' King said. 'Black people were brought here as subjects of America, and it was never intended that we would hold any other types of positions. And so one of the things that I've been saying is that white people are okay with the racial diversity as long as it is in the context of subjugation and inferiority.' Advocates often point to numerous studies that have shown that companies profit from DEI programs both culturally and economically. They have also been working to remind employers that Trump's orders cannot supersede federal law. As advocates work to spread this message, they've also stepped up their legal challenges to Trump. On Monday, groups representing university diversity officers and professors, restaurant workers and Baltimore city officials filed a lawsuit against Trump and multiple federal agencies in the US District Court for the District of Maryland. The suit claims Trump's order is too vague and threatens First Amendment and due process rights. 'These executive orders are political theater, but they're also really dangerous because they attempt to undermine existing law,' said Alphonso David, president and CEO of the Global Black Economic Forum. Trump, he added, 'is trying to redefine race and its troubled relationship with this country, and he's trying to ignore that systemic discrimination exists.' The White House defended its approach to DEI in a statement. 'Minorities in America have recognized the Democrat Party's empty promises and failed policies,' said Harrison Fields, principal deputy press secretary at the White House. 'That's why President Trump earned historic support from Black, Latino, Asian, and Arab Americans by prioritizing secure borders, economic opportunity, and an America First foreign policy. Meanwhile, the Left's divisive focus on DEI policies undermines decades of progress toward true equality. The Trump administration rejects this backward thinking and will pursue an agenda that lifts everyone up with the chance to achieve the American Dream.' Davids said legislators must focus on strengthening those laws rather than introducing new bills. 'This is not about advancing new policies. This is about complying with existing ones,' he said, emphasizing that it is still illegal for employers to discriminate on the basis of race, sex, ethnicity or disability. But lawmakers have to make sure their work is reaching more than just the streets of D.C., said democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright. 'I think it will be malpractice to centralize this fight geographically to Washington,' said Seawright. Instead, he said, legislators have to make sure they're educating Americans around the nation of the work they are doing, especially as 2026 midterm campaigning gets underway. 'Throughout our history, particularly as Black Americans, Washington has never been the only battlefield we've had to fight on,' Seawright said. 'We have to hyper-localize these discussions and fights because they're taking place not just in Washington but all over the country.' Seawright added that the work to protect DEI cannot rest only upon Black legislators, such as the Congressional Black Caucus, if Democrats want to ensure change. 'The CBC has always been on the front line pushing the envelope for change, so that won't change, but we have to be careful making this just a CBC fight, because CBC represents more than just Black Americans, they represent all Americans from all walks of life,' Seawright said. 'This has to be a broader fight. I think the CBC, the CHC and the Asian American Pacific Islander caucus, and every other community caucus has just as much of a responsibility to lead the fight on this.' In some ways, Seawright added, Republicans have to stand up to the president as well. 'This impacts all of us, because every American has benefited in some way, shape or form, from the fertilization of diversity, equity and inclusion to the American soil,' said Seawright. Abrams, of APR, added that corporations have to take a stance as well. Meta, McDonalds, Walmart, Lowe's and Target are all among a plethora of corporations to announce they would no longer continue their DEI programs. 'They want to back down publicly while continuing to do these things quietly, because they know it works,' Abrams said. 'We need to demand that these corporations stop trying to have it both ways, stop trying to continue to benefit from DEI behind closed doors. If you're going to benefit from, then you have a responsibility to stand up in this moment and not to be bullied.' It will fall on consumers rather than politicians, Abrams added, to hold these corporations accountable. 'This is not a moment where we need to panic and feel overwhelmed, but we have to remember what has come before, where we are right now, how much power we actually do have,' Abrams said.
