The State Department expends too much effort pushing dubious diversity, equity and inclusion policies around the world rather than building international relationships that protect America’s national security, two top Republican lawmakers say in a new report.
Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Brian Mast, both from Florida, said the Biden administration is on a crusade to infuse DEI policies into the daily operations of the State Department.
“It has distracted from our duty to protect and promote our national interests. So long as it continues, our diplomats will lose ground to our adversaries,” their report, “Diversity Over Diplomacy —- How Wokeness is Weakening the U.S. State Department,” states.
The State Department awarded more than $20,000 to Ecuador’s Abraham Lincoln North American Cultural Center last year to host 12 drag theater performances designed to “promote diversity and inclusion,” according to a State Department filing.
The State Department also awarded a $10,000 grant to Queer Lisboa, a film festival in Portugal that showed movies that featured acts of incest and pedophilia, according to the “Diversity Over Diplomacy” report.
“The State Department’s misguided focus on wokeness has undermined its effectiveness and distracted from its duty to promote and protect America’s national interest,” Mr. Rubio said in a statement. “This focus on promoting divisive partisan goals will only undermine our efforts on the world stage.”
The two lawmakers said Beijing has exploited America’s “woke lecturing” by building international relationships at U.S. expense in virtually every region of the world.
For example, China’s state-owned banks have distributed loans totaling $138 billion throughout South America. In return, Brazil, Ecuador and Venezuela are providing Beijing with favorable access to their countries’ natural resources.
The South American nations also purchase Chinese military equipment, cooperate in military exercises and engage in personnel exchanges, according to the report.
“We need to ensure that the State Department is effective in representing our national interests and that our diplomats are focused on our national security, rather than bizarre DEI objectives, most of which are rejected by Americans,” Mr. Rubio said.
The State Department analysis follows the recently released “Woke Warfighters,” a report from Mr. Rubio that says political ideology is weakening America’s military. It accuses the Biden administration of claiming that promoting “diversity and inclusion” is crucial to strengthening the effectiveness of the military and has ranked it above preventing suicide and reducing sexual assault and other forms of violence against service members.
“To the Biden administration, advancing their woke ideology is more important than keeping our soldiers safe,” according to the Rubio report.
Pentagon officials deny allegations that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pushes “woke” policies on the force and have accused critics of undermining their recruiting efforts by raising the issue.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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