#Kevin Cramer

[republicansaredomesticterrorists]

Evil runs in their families. Imagine if it was the son of a Democrat.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Mehdi Hasan at Zeteo News:

A group of influential Republican senators has sent a letter to International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor Karim Khan, warning him not to issue international arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials, and threatening him with “severe sanctions” if he does so.  In a terse, one-page letter obtained exclusively by Zeteo, and signed by 12 GOP senators, including Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Florida’s Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz of Texas, Khan is informed that any attempt by the ICC to hold Netanyahu and his colleagues to account for their actions in Gaza will be interpreted “not only as a threat to Israel’s sovereignty but to the sovereignty of the United States.”

12 Republican Senators-- including Tom Cotton, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Mitch McConnell, and Katie Britt-- have all signed onto a letter in support of Israel's war crimes threatening the ICC if they issue arrest warrants to Israel Apartheid State officials.

[politicaldilfs]

Kevin Cramer

[maturemenoftvandfilms]

Kevin Cramer (R-ND) United States Senator

Come on senator... it can't be that big.

Is it?

[idvoteforthatdaddy]

Kevin Cramer (R-ND) United States Senator

[kp777]

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said Sunday that the GOP is “in desperate need” of new leadership, a dismissal of former President Trump, who is running for another White House term in 2024. 

“Donald Trump’s not going to take advice from the party or from me, but I think what will happen is if he’s indicted, that becomes one of the factors [on] whether he wins primaries or not. The other factor is who else is in the race and who may make the best case,” Cramer said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” 

Read more.

[repostedpoliticalarts]

These are the 34 congressional Republicans who corresponded via text message with Donald Trump’s Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, about plans to overturn the 2020 election:

These individuals should literally be in JAIL. They are all guilty of treason against the American people and should DEFINITELY not STILL BE HOLDING OFFICE!!

Rep. Rick Allen (Georgia)

Rep. Brian Babin (Texas)

Rep. Andy Biggs (Arizona)

Rep. Dan Bishop (North Carolina)

Rep. Kevin Brady (Texas)

Rep. Mo Brooks (Alabama)

Rep. Ted Budd (North Carolina)

Rep. Andrew Clyde (Georgia)

Sen. Kevin Cramer (North Dakota)

Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas)

Rep. Warren Davidson (Ohio)

Rep. Tom Emmer (Minnesota)

Rep. Bob Gibbs (Ohio)

Rep. Louie Gohmert (Texas)

Rep. Paul Gosar (Arizona)

Rep. Mark Green (Tennessee)

Rep. Jody Hice (Georgia)

Rep. Richard Hudson (North Carolina)

Rep. Mike Johnson (Louisiana)

Sen. Ron Johnson (Wisconsin)

Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio)

Rep. Fred Keller (Pennsylvania)

Rep. Mike Kelly (Pennsylvania)

Sen. Mike Lee (Utah)

Rep. Billy Long (Missouri)

Rep. Barry Loudermilk (Georgia)

Sen. Cynthia Lummis (Wyoming)

Rep. Barry Moore (Alabama)

Rep. Greg Murphy (North Carolina)

Rep. Ralph Norman (South Carolina)

Sen. David Perdue (Georgia)

Rep. Scott Perry (Pennsylvania)

Rep. Chip Roy (Texas)

Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene (Georgia)

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell bluntly warned Republican senators in a private meeting not to sign on to a bill from Sen. Josh Hawley aimed at limiting corporate money bankrolling high-powered outside groups, telling them that many of them won their seats thanks to the powerful super PAC the Kentucky Republican has long controlled.

According to multiple sources familiar with the Tuesday lunch meeting, McConnell warned GOP senators that they could face “incoming” from the “center-right” if they signed onto Hawley’s bill. He also read off a list of Senators who won their races amid heavy financial support from the Senate Leadership Fund, an outside group tied to the GOP leader that spends big on TV ads in battleground Senate races. On that list of senators: Hawley himself, according to sources familiar with the matter.

McConnell has long been a chief opponent of tighter campaign finance restrictions. But there’s also no love lost between McConnell and Hawley, who has long criticized the GOP leader and has repeatedly called for new leadership atop their conference. Just on Tuesday, Hawley told CNN that it was “mistake” for McConnell to be “standing with” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, in their push to tie Ukraine aid to an Israel funding package.

Hawley’s new bill, called the Ending Corporate Influence on Elections Act, is aimed at reversing the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision that loosened campaign finance laws – an effort that aligns the conservative Missouri Republican with many Democrats. Hawley’s bill would ban publicly traded corporations from making independent expenditures and political advertisements – and ban those publicly traded companies from giving money to super PACs.

In an interview, Hawley defended his bill and said that corporate influence should be limited in elections.

“I think that’s wrong,” Hawley told CNN. “I think it’s wrong as an original matter. I think it’s warping our politics, and I see no reason for conservatives to defend it. It’s wrong as a matter of the original meaning of the Constitution. It is bad for our elections. It’s bad for our voters. And I just think on principle, we ought to be concerned.”

According to a list of Senators obtained by CNN, McConnell singled out a number of lawmakers who benefited from his outside group over the last three cycles: Mike Braun of Indiana, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Joni Ernst of Iowa, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Susan Collins of Maine, Steve Daines of Montana, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Katie Britt of Alabama, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Eric Schmitt of Missouri, Ted Budd of North Carolina, JD Vance of Ohio and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.

In 2018, Hawley benefited from more than $20 million from McConnell’s group.

McConnell’s office declined to comment.

[alexbrecks]

I’m being serious. You could’ve died, saving my life. I’d do it again. In a heart beat.

[mercerislandbooks]

Fall Events at Island Books!

Island Books has so much going on in the next few months! Check out all the happenings below:

September 9th at 11am author Pastor Greg Asimakoupoulos will be signing his new book, Paper Bag Poems in Pioneer Park.

September 10th at 12pm author Garth Stein and illustrator Matthew Southworth will be here to launch the second installment of their graphic series The Cloven -- and also host a weenie roast!

September 14th at 6pm on Zoom join our Virtual Knitting Book Club led by Lori as we discuss Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez, and our current works in progress.

September 21st at 6:30pm author Bob Muglia will be in conversation with Geek Wire's Todd Bishop, discussing Bob's new book, The Datapreneurs.

September 27th at 6:30pm author Kevin O'Brien will be in conversation with Jennie Shortridge discussing his new novel, The Enemy at Home.

September 28th at 7:30pm Island Books Open Book Club will be discussing Trust by Hernan Diaz.

October 12th at 6pm on Zoom join our Virtual Knitting Book Club led by Lori as we discuss The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna.

October 14th at 4pm author/illustrator Ben Clanton and author/illustrator Andy Chou Musser will be presenting their new book Ploof, geared towards preschoolers.

October 17th at 6pm author Jennifer Cramer-Miller will be discussing her book, Incurable Optimist.

October 22nd at 4pm author Miriam Landis will be in conversation with Nancy Pearl, discussing Miriam's new middle-grade novel Lauren in the Limelight.

October 24th at 6pm join us for an evening with former SuperSonics executive Bob Whitsitt to talk PNW sports and his new book, Game Changer.

October 26th at 7:30pm Island Books Open Book Club will be discussing Properties of Thirst by Marianne Wiggins.

It's going to be a fun fall at Island Books -- and stay tuned for our 50th Anniversary events, coming in November!

[sentinelleblr]

"On Thursday, May 9, Senators Katie Britt (R-AL), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) introduced the More Opportunities for Moms to Succeed (MOMS) act.

The measure is clear that it enlists the government in opposition to abortion, but more than that, it establishes that the government will create a database of the names and contact information of pregnant women, which the government can then use “to follow up with users on additional resources that would be helpful for the users to review.” 

A government database of pregnant women would give the federal government unprecedented control over individuals"

Republicans want to control us. Every day, in everything we do. They want to ban contraception. Some of them want to take away our right to vote. Vote Democrat to help stop this.

[1americanconservative]

These 28 GOP Senators voted for continued funding to Ukraine, even though we are $33 Trillion in debt, and face a Gov shutdown. Some real shockers in this group!

1. John Barrasso (WY)

2. John Boozman (AR)

3. Shelly Capito (WV)

4. Bill Cassidy (LA)

5. Susan Collins (ME)

6. John Cornyn (TX)

7. Tom Cotton (AR)

8. Kevin Cramer (ND)

9. Mike Crapo (ID)

10. Joni Ernst (IA)

11. Lindsey Graham (SC)

12. Chuck Grassley (IA)

13. John Hoeven (ND)

14. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R)

15. John Kennedy (LA)

16. James Lankford (OK)

17. Mitch McConnell (KY)

18. Jerry Moran (KS)

19. Markwayne Mullin (OK)

20. Lisa Murkowski (AK)

21. Mitt Romney (UT)

22. Mike Rounds (SD)

23. Marco Rubio (FL)

24. Dan Sullivan (AK)

25. John Thune (SD)

26. Thom Tillis (NC)

27. Roger Wicker (MS)

28. Todd Young (IN)

[saydams]

the usa senate passed the budget that banned all aid to UNRWA and Biden signed it.

the senators who voted for this budget (preventing usa from funding UNRWA) are under the readmore. if your senator is on this list, call (202) 224-3121 and demand they find another way of funding relief to palestine.

Tammy Baldwin Wis.

Richard Blumenthal Conn.

Cory Booker N.J.

John Boozman Ark.

Katie Britt Ala.

Sherrod Brown Ohio

Laphonza Butler Calif.

Maria Cantwell Wash.

S. Capito W.Va.

Benjamin L. Cardin Md.

Tom Carper Del.

Bob Casey Pa.

Bill Cassidy La.

Susan Collins Maine

Chris Coons Del.

John Cornyn Tex.

C. Cortez Masto Nev.

Tom Cotton Ark.

Kevin Cramer N.D.

Tammy Duckworth Ill.

Dick Durbin Ill.

Joni Ernst Iowa

John Fetterman Pa.

Deb Fischer Neb.

Kirsten Gillibrand N.Y.

Lindsey Graham S.C.

Chuck Grassley Iowa

M. Hassan N.H.

Martin Heinrich N.M.

John Hickenlooper Colo.

Mazie Hirono Hawaii

John Hoeven N.D.

Cindy Hyde-Smith Miss.

Tim Kaine Va.

Mark Kelly Ariz.

Angus King Maine

Amy Klobuchar Minn.

Ben Ray Luján N.M.

Joe Manchin III W.Va.

Edward J. Markey Mass.

Mitch McConnell Ky.

Robert Menendez N.J.

Jeff Merkley Ore.

Jerry Moran Kan.

Markwayne Mullin Okla.

Lisa Murkowski Alaska

Chris Murphy Conn.

Patty Murray Wash.

Jon Ossoff Ga.

Alex Padilla Calif.

Gary Peters Mich.

Jack Reed R.I.

Mitt Romney Utah

Jacky Rosen Nev.

Mike Rounds S.D.

Brian Schatz Hawaii

Charles E. Schumer N.Y.

Jeanne Shaheen N.H.

Kyrsten Sinema Ariz.

Tina Smith Minn.

Debbie Stabenow Mich.

Dan Sullivan Alaska

Jon Tester Mont.

John Thune S.D.

Thom Tillis N.C.

Chris Van Hollen Md.

Mark R. Warner Va.

Raphael G. Warnock Ga

Elizabeth Warren Mass.

Peter Welch Vt.

Sheldon Whitehouse R.I.

Roger Wicker Miss.

Ron Wyden Ore.

Todd Young Ind.

[titleknown]

So, you know all those bad laws I tell y'all to call your senators to kill? Well here's a good one for you to promote!

Basically, you know how payment processors freak the fuck out if even the slightest whiff of adult content shows up on a website, which has lead to the widespread sanitization of the internet?

Well, this bill, S.293; aims to prevent that crap!

And, it's currently in the Committee of Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, so if your Senator is one of the following, call them and tell them to vote yes on it:

Sherrod Brown, Ohio, Chairman

Jack Reed, Rhode Island

Bob Menendez, New Jersey

Jon Tester, Montana

Mark Warner, Virginia

Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts (Tell her it would be a start on apologizing for voting yes on FOSTA/SESTA)

Chris Van Hollen, Maryland

Catherine Cortez Masto, Nevada

Tina Smith, Minnesota

Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona (ugh)

Raphael Warnock, Georgia

John Fetterman, Pennsylvania

Tim Scott, South Carolina, Ranking Member

Mike Crapo, Idaho

Mike Rounds, South Dakota

Thom Tillis, North Carolina (Probably not reaching this asshole)

John Kennedy, Louisiana

Bill Hagerty, Tennessee

Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming

J.D. Vance, Ohio (Ugh)

Katie Britt, Alabama

Kevin Cramer, North Dakota

Steve Daines, Montana

If they're one of those right-wing dipshits, tell them it would help them prevent "cancel culture" via socially-conscious payment processors. Because subterfugue towards conservatives is always cool and good! Always!

Also mention that, in a happy irony, this would actually make kids safer by allowing platforms to acknowlege that, yes, people make a living selling well-endowed monoecious horsegirl drawings on their platform, and actually put properly finetuned safeguards in place.

As opposed to now, where they have to dance around it and put it in a grey-area hell so that Peter "Dracula" Thiel doesn't get his seastead in a shoal and ban them, which nobody likes!

So, call 'em if you can, boost even if you can't!

[laboulaie]

Llanview's Leading Ladies Let Loose

"We are family" might be the new motto for ONE LIFE TO LIVE's Cramer women. United in the pursuit of fame, fortune and a fabulous wardrobe, these ladies have decided that they can get what they want without the help of the opposite sex. (From left) Kassie DePaiva (Blair), Gina Tognoni (Kelly), Robin Strasser (Dorian) and *Laura Koffman (Cassie) sat down with Soap Opera Digest for a no-holds-barred chat at the chi chi Cafe des Aristes restaurant in New York City.

Digest: What's the best thing that's happened to you this year?

Strasser: It's a little self-serving, but winning the Soap Opera Digest Award has to be right up there. That was a big thrill.

DePaiva, Koffman and Tognoni in unison: Very well deserved.

Strasser: I hate that expression, girls.

DePaiva: Robin hates any compliment you ever give her...

Tognoni: ... while she's working.

Strasser: And I'm a little superstitious, too. After dress rehearsal, they'll say, "Oh, that was so good." I'm like, "Don't tell me."

DePaiva: She thinks we're complimenting her, but we're not. I'm trying to tell her she sucks.

Strasser: Thank you for sharing, Kassie.

DePaiva: Actually, her wardrobe is what's working (smiles). There have been some dresses she's worn that I'll say, "I'm sorry, I cannot work with this. She has those big boobies; I can't work with her."

Strasser: (Ray, the stage manager) always says, "We're just trying to make the material more uplifting."

DePaiva: It's like, never work with babies, animals or Robin's breasts. You just can't compete.

Tognoni: You should see her when she has that negligee stuff on.

Koffman: Thank God, Cassie never walked in on it!

Strasser: All right, was that dress too low-cut for the Soap Opera Digest Awards? Yes, it was, but I had never worn anything like that. Even my mother was astonished.

Koffman: Everybody said you looked so fabulous.

Tognoni: You looked great.

Strasser: I got nailed by the New York Daily News for wearing too low-cut a dress and they said Gina's was...

Tognoni: Too frumpy. We both made the paper.

Strasser: Patricia Mauceri (Carlotta) and I once made "Worst Dressed" in the Enquirer. We didn't deserve it. It was the hottest day, 104 degrees, and we were at a blood drive. We were giving up our time for a fund-raiser and we got nailed for wearing flowered dresses.

DePaiva: If I wore Blair's dresses out in the street, I would be acosted!

Strasser: Just because they don't cover your rear end?

DePaiva: They don't cover my rear end, they don't cover my boobs. I love Susan Gammie (OLTL costume designer) but she...

Strasser: ... undresses you.

Digest: And how about you, Gina?

Tognoni: I was nominated for a Soap Opera Digest Award - that was fantastic. It was the first time I'd ever been nominated for anything.

DePaiva: Won't be the last, honey.

Strasser: She's the best young actress I've ever worked with - and I've worked with plenty.

Digest: Which OLTL actor would you like to work with that you haven't already?

DePaiva: I think Laura (as Cassie) should have a fantasy sequence. In each scene a different actor comes in and takes his clothes off and she sleeps with him. The first scene should be with Kevin Stapleton (Kevin).

Koffman: I like him.

DePaiva: There was a scene where Cassie is supposed to be speechless when she sees Kevin without his shirt on. (In real life) Laura said, "Oh my God."

Koffman: I was so mortified, he opens up the door and I was like (shows a stunned look). I blew all my lines.

DePaiva: It was right on cue.

Koffman: And Robyn Goodman (supervising producer) said, "Nice chest, huh Laura?"

Strasser: Does he have a nice chest?

DePaiva: Yes.

Digest: Who would you like to work with, Gina?

Tognoni: Susan Haskell (Marty). I think she's awesome. And Thorsten Kaye (Patrick). I had a few scenes with him. Man, he's so there. He's sooo there.

Koffman: I never worked with Roger Howarth (Todd).

Digest: You'd like to work with Roger?

Koffman: Oh yeah, in a minute.

Strasser: I would love to work with Bob Woods (Bo). Years and years ago, Dorian and Bo went on a date. He took off his cowboy hat and planted one on me. It was enjoyable. They never let me do a scene with him again. Broke my heart.

Digest: Let's do a male word association. I'll name a co-star and you tell me the first word that pops into your head. We'll start with Thorsten Kaye.

Tognoni: Sexy.

Strasser: Wow. Wow.

DePaiva: Lovely.

Digest: John Loprieno (Cord).

Tognoni: He's really sweet.

Koffman: Brilliant.

Strasser: Dreamboat.

DePaiva: Precious. He's going to hate us, you know that.

Digest: Nathan Fillion (Joey).

DePaiva: Nathan is the best.

Tognoni: He's a brilliant comedian.

Koffman: He gives a lot of love and he needs a lot of love.

Strasser: Look how much he's changed in just the last year and a half. He's a major player and we'll all be very proud to have known him.

Digest: Phil Carey (Asa).

Tognoni: Curmudgeon. Hilarious.

Koffman: I love him. He's great.

Strasser: Bigger than life.

DePaiva: I love him. And I love working with him.

Digest: Moving on to dressing rooms - whose is the messiest?

Strasser and DePaiva: Probably mine.

DePaiva: Laura and I share a room. She is clean. When I moved in with her, she told me where I could hang my pictures.

Koffman: I did not.

DePaiva: Yes, you did. You hung them for me, actually.

Digest: Let's talk wardrobe.

DePaiva: We need to get Dorian a new wardrobe. I'm taking her shopping.

Strasser: My mom thanks you. Actually, if there's anybody who need to be taken shopping, it's Cassie.

Koffman: Agreed.

DePaiva: When you start doing Kevin.

All: Oooohhh.

DePaiva: I see that coming around the corner. Of course, last week, Dorian says, "Come on Cassie, aren't you tired of that reverend?" I thought I would...

Koffman: Die.

Digest: What film actor would you love to work with?

Koffman: Kevin Bacon. I find him amazing.

DePaiva: He's over at my gym all the time. I would love to work with John Travolta. I think my energy could work off him. That'd be fun.

Strasser: Robert DeNiro and Liam Neeson. In separate scenes. And Tommy Lee Jones. Yep, darn it. I didn't play the part then, but Dorian apparently had an affair with Tommy Lee Jones' character (Dr. Mark Toland, 1971-1975)

Koffman: I love Harrison Ford. I saw him once in Sloan's supermarket at 10 o'clock at night. I said to him, "I love your work, forever." Forever? Shit! He looked at me and said, "Thanks." For three days, I kept thinking, "What a jerk I am. What a jerk!"

Digest: Is there an initiation ritual you go through when you do your first love scene on the show?

Tognoni: They took my underwear and hung it on the flagpole.

Koffman: Ugghhh!

Tognoni: Joking.

Digest: Is it awkward doing a love scene?

Koffman: They're the hardest.

DePaiva: Love scenes are not ad-libbed; they're choreographed.

Strasser: You wouldn't want to do a love scene with somebody who you didn't like the taste, smell, or feel of - that's a lot like life.

DePaiva: I worked with an actor for a year and a half who didn't want to do love scenes with me. He was very uncomfortable with sexual scenes. That's very difficult, but you have to do the best you can and try not to take it personally.

Digest: What's the most revealing outfit you've had to wear on the show?

DePaiva: I had to strip down to a bra and panties. You feel extremely naked. I've also done love scenes where I just have pasties on.

Tognoni: I just did that last week.

Strasser: I don't wear pasties.

Tognoni: You don't wear anything?

Strasser: No.

DePaiva: Good for you.

Strasser: If something showed, I would rather they cut the tape than have that Band-Aid shot.

Koffman: So you don't wear anything?

Strasser: I wear underwear but I don't wear anything up above.

Digest: What do you think about the Cramer women uniting?

DePaiva: I think it's very interesting and very dynamic.

Strasser: It's a good family unit.

Koffman: I'm just hoping that it keeps developing. It's so powerful.

DePaiva: I think women's issues can be dealt with. And we could talk about self-esteem.

Tognoni: Even though Kelly doesn't have any.

DePaiva: See, that's something. Neither does Blair. I think the Cramer women can put the "fun" in dysfunction.

Digest: And what would you like to do as a united family?

Tognoni: Kick some butt!

Soap Opera Digest (August 27th, 1996 Issue)

*Note that "Laura Koffman" was her married name at the time of this interview and has since reverted back to using her maiden name "Laura Bonarrigo"

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Aaron Sibarium

Published: Jun 12, 2024

Congressional Republicans introduced a bill on Wednesday that would eliminate all diversity, equity, and inclusion positions in the federal government and bar federal contractors from requiring DEI statements and training sessions.

The Dismantle DEI Act, introduced by Sen. J.D. Vance (R., Ohio) and Rep. Michael Cloud (R., Texas), would also bar federal grants from going to diversity initiatives, cutting off a key source of support for DEI programs in science and medicine. Other provisions would prevent accreditation agencies from requiring DEI in schools and bar national securities associations, like NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange, from instituting diversity requirements for corporate boards.

"The DEI agenda is a destructive ideology that breeds hatred and racial division," Vance told the Washington Free Beacon. "It has no place in our federal government or anywhere else in our society."

The bill is the most comprehensive legislative effort yet to excise DEI initiatives from the federal government and regulated entities. It offers a preview of how a Republican-controlled government, led by former president Donald Trump, could crack down on the controversial diversity programs that have exploded since 2020, fueled in part by President Joe Biden’s executive orders mandating a "whole-of-government" approach to  "racial equity."

From NASA and the National Science Foundation to the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S Army, all federal agencies require some form of diversity training. Mandatory workshops have drilled tax collectors on "cultural inclusion," military commanders on male pregnancy, and nuclear engineers on the "roots of white male culture," which—according to a training for Sandia National Laboratories, the Energy Department offshoot that designs America’s nuclear arsenal—include a "can-do attitude" and "hard work."

The Sandia training, conducted in 2019 by a group called "White Men As Full Diversity Partners," instructed nuclear weapons engineers to write "a short message" to "white women" and "people of color" about what they’d learned, according to screenshots of the training obtained by the Manhattan Institute’s Christopher Rufo.

The bill would ban these trainings and close the government DEI offices that conduct them. It would also prevent personnel laid off by those closures from being transferred or reassigned—a move meant to stop diversity initiatives from continuing under another name.

The prohibitions, which cover outside DEI consultants as well as government officials, would be enforced via a private right of action and could save the government billions of dollars. In 2023, the Biden administration spent over $16 million on diversity training for government employees alone. It requested an additional $83 million that year for DEI programs at the State Department and $9.2 million for the Office of Personnel Management’s Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility—one of the many bureaucracies the bill would eliminate.

A large chunk of savings would come from axing DEI grants made through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which has a near monopoly on science funding in the United States. The agency hosts an entire webpage for "diversity related" grant opportunities—including several that prioritize applicants from "diverse backgrounds"—and has set aside billions of dollars for "minority institutions" and researchers with a "commitment to promoting diversity." All of those programs would be on the chopping block should Vance and Cloud’s bill pass.

Cosponsored by Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.), Rick Scott (R., Fla.), Kevin Cramer (R., N.D.), Bill Cassidy (R., La.), and Eric Schmitt (R., Mo.) in the Senate, the Dismantle DEI Act has drawn support from prominent conservative advocacy groups, including Heritage Action and the Claremont Institute. At a time of ideological fracture on the right—debates about foreign aid and the proper role of government bitterly divided Trump’s primary challengers, for example, both in 2016 and 2024—Wednesday’s bill aims to provide a rallying cry most Republicans can get behind: DEI needs to die.

"It’s absurd to fund these divisive policies, especially using Americans' tax dollars," Cloud told the Free Beacon. "And it’s time for Congress to put an end to them once and for all."

The bill has the potential to free millions of Americans—both in government and the private sector—from the sort of divisive diversity trainings that have become an anti-woke bête noire. Its most consequential provisions might be those governing federal contractors, which employ up to a fifth of the American workforce and include companies like Pfizer, Microsoft, Lockheed Martin, and Verizon.

Each firm runs a suite of DEI programs, from race-based fellowships and "resource groups" to mandatory workshops, that have drawn public outcry and in some cases sparked legal challenges. By targeting these contractors, the bill could purge DEI from large swaths of the U.S. economy without directly outlawing the practice in private institutions.

Targeting accreditors, meanwhile, could remove a key driver of DEI programs in professional schools. The American Bar Association and the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, which accredit all law and medical schools in the United States and derive much of their power from the U.S. Department of Education, have both made DEI material—including course content on "anti-racism"—a requirement for accreditation, over the objections of some of their members.

Those mandates have spurred a handful of law schools to require entire classes on critical race theory. The transformation has been even more acute at medical schools, which, per accreditation guidelines released in 2022, should teach students to identify "systems of power, privilege, and oppression."

Yale Medical School now requires residents to take a mandatory course on "advocacy" and "health justice," for example. And at the University of California, Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine, students must complete a "health equity" course that promotes police abolition, describes weight loss as a "hopeless endeavor," and states that "biomedical knowledge" is "just one way" of understanding "health and the world."

While the bill wouldn’t outlaw these lessons directly, it would prevent accreditors recognized by the Education Department from mandating them. Such agencies, whose seal of approval is a prerequisite for federal funds, would need to certify that their accreditation standards do not "require, encourage, or coerce any institution of higher education to engage in prohibited" DEI practices, according to the text of the bill. They would also need to certify that they do not "assess the commitment of an institution of higher education to any ideology, belief, or viewpoint" as part of the accreditation process.

Other, more technical provisions would eliminate diversity quotas at federal agencies and end a racially targeted grant program in the Department of Health and Human Services.

Unlike past GOP efforts to limit DEI, which have focused on the content of diversity trainings and the use of explicit racial preferences, the bill introduced Wednesday would also ax requirements related to data collection. It repeals a law that forces the armed services to keep tabs on the racial breakdown of officers, for example, as well as a law that requires intelligence officials to collect data on the "diversity and inclusion efforts" of their agencies.

Though officials could still collect the data if they so choose, the bill would mark a small step toward colorblindness in a country where racial record-keeping—required by many federal agencies—has long been the norm.

"DEI destroys competence while making Americans into enemies," said Arthur Milikh, the director of the Claremont Institute Center for the American Way of Life, one of the conservative groups supporting the bill. "This ideology must be fought, and its offices removed."

==

I don't care who raised it. If the Dems raised it, I'd support it. DEI is absolute poison.