Throughout recent political happenings, prominent Republican officials have run with a campaign against what’s known as diversity, equity, and inclusion, which generally refers to a proactive effort to be inclusive towards historically underrepresented or disadvantaged groups.
Amid consideration in the House this week of a bill to fund the nation’s defense apparatus for the upcoming fiscal year, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) presented a proposed amendment that, if added to the legislation and then made law, would have broadly blocked the usage of federal money for initiatives in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Though Republicans currently control the House chamber and opposition to those efforts has been popular on their side, Gaetz’s proposal failed. A full 221 members of the chamber voted against it, while 210 were in favor. A small number of Republicans defecting from the party line boosted those in opposition to the vote level they needed.
Gaetz’s proposal mirrors an initiative that had been under consideration in Florida to broadly block colleges and universities that are part of the state’s system of higher education from spending on some of those same diversity efforts. In Congress, the failed vote on Gaetz’s initiative was held very late on Thursday, with a recorded time per records from the House Clerk of just after 11 p.m.
Another late-night rejection saw a proposal from Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) to “exempt defense related activities from the Endangered Species Act” voted down in Congress. (The preceding summary of the proposed amendment to the latest National Defense Authorization Act was from Congress.gov.) Those opposing Biggs outnumbered the members registering their opposition to the earlier Gaetz proposal, with 237 members of the House voting down the Trump-supporting Arizonan’s idea, which per its plain reading could have sparked serious concerns about protecting the environment in delicate areas.
During earlier negotiations on the House Armed Services Committee over potentially adding amendments to the defense spending bill at that stage, Gaetz also raised complaints about ostensible federal support for drag shows, seeking a formal block within U.S. military environs. At the time, Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) maligned the idea that banning drag shows was a significant concern of military families.
