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U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi stopped a federal lawsuits from the Biden administration against police and fire departments over diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) hiring policies.
The Justice Department’s Office of Civil Rights sued local first responders for hiring based on merit only instead of implementing the Biden administration’s requirements.
“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 Justice Department wrote in a press 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,” it continued.
Bondi personally spoke out on behalf of first responders in the statement, arguing that America needs the best firefighters and police officers.
“American communities deserve firefighters and police officers to be chosen for their skill and dedication to public safety – not to meet DEI quotas,” she stated.
Justice Department chief of staff Chad Mizelle also addressed the dropped lawsuits in a thread posted to X on Wednesday.
“If there is anything we learned from recent events, it is that America is not safe when its firefighters, police officers, and first responders are selected based on DEI instead of skill,” he wrote.
“When wildfires rage or tragedy strikes, Americans need to know that the Department of Justice will no longer force fire and police departments to hire based on DEI rather than merit,” he continued.
President Donald Trump issued executive orders to eliminate DEI policies in the federal government. Bondi’s decision this week marks the latest development in the ongoing effort against the efforts under the new administration.
Biden’s Justice Department filed lawsuits against multiple police and fire stations, seeking to change written tests it claimed discriminated against black applicants.
“Discriminatory employment tests do more than cost applicants a fair chance to compete for public service jobs like firefighting; they also prevent communities from being served in these crucial positions by the most qualified candidates for the job,” then-Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in October.