Republican lawmakers are buying into the idea that diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are inhibiting the response to the California wildfires and other natural disasters.
As Elon Musk and other right-leaning influencers have criticized the efforts to contain the wildfires that began last week, there’s been an uptick in using the diversity of first responders to attack Democrats and the way they run areas they govern. That includes members of Congress, where Republicans have latched on to the narrative.
“Absolutely … very often we hire people not based on their qualifications, but some other social engineering issue, or some idea that they think that we got to fill these boxes,” Republican Rep. Barry Moore told NOTUS when asked if DEI has played a role in natural disaster response. “But I think that you have to put in the best people, regardless of color, skin, socioeconomic background, education, sex.”