The Functional Government Initiative (FGI) has announced that documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) reveal collaboration between Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials and external groups to uphold diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices following the 2024 election.
According to a press release by FGI, these FOIA documents indicate that on November 15, 2024, Tyvonia Ward, Director of the EPA Office of Inclusive Excellence, held a call with Bob Leavitt from Gartner Inc. to discuss the upcoming presidential transition. The meeting centered on three main priorities: "proactively leading through the transition with a focus on people," "proactively developing a strategic plan," and "audit or assess existing activities to set a baseline." Leavitt, who previously served as chief human capital officer at USAID and HHS, acknowledged that DEI-related themes would be integral to the "people strategy."
Ward subsequently sent Leavitt the EPA’s current DEIA goals. These goals included efforts to integrate DEIA into hiring and promotions strategically and implement payroll policies aimed at advancing pay equity across the agency. In another meeting on December 13, 2024, Ward proposed planning an off-site session for early January 2025 with her leadership team to develop a strategic plan for their office and program.
"These documents obtained by FGI illustrate just how deep the DEI rot went," said Roderick Law, spokesman for FGI. "Immediately after the 2024 election, Ward reached out to a pro-DEI company to lay the groundwork for continued DEI practices, knowing that the future administration was going to eliminate these divisive policies. This effort was an exercise in futility, yet it goes to show the lengths these unelected bureaucrats will go to ‘save’ DEI," Law added.
The Functional Government Initiative is a nonprofit organization engaged in investigative research, litigation, and educational efforts focusing on federal government transparency. It utilizes FOIA requests to scrutinize agency activities and disseminates its findings through press releases. The group aims to inform the public about government decisions related to economic growth, public health, workforce issues, and environmental matters.
