In a significant victory for advocates of fairness and meritocracy, the Department of Defense (DoD) and a partnering organization have been forced to dial back their controversial diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts following the Supreme Court’s landmark decision to overturn affirmative action last year. The ruling, which struck down the use of race as a factor in college admissions, has had far-reaching implications, compelling even federal agencies to reconsider policies that prioritize equity over merit.
The Defense Department, in partnership with the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), had allocated nearly $800,000 in taxpayer funds to promote what they termed “equity-focused” hiring goals. These funds were earmarked for creating career pipelines that, according to critics, unfairly favored certain demographic groups over others, often at the expense of qualified candidates from non-minority backgrounds. However, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling, these programs have had to be revised.
“Immediately following the summer 2023 Supreme Court decision, the internship criteria were revised in compliance with the ruling,” stated Stacy Downs, the Director of Strategic Communications for UMKC. This is a clear acknowledgment that the university and the DoD had to pivot away from practices that were no longer legally defensible.
The Supreme Court’s decision was a decisive moment for those who have long argued that affirmative action and similar DEI initiatives amounted to reverse discrimination. The court’s conservative majority ruled that using race as a criterion in college admissions—and by extension, in other sectors—violates the Constitution. For years, students from groups like Whites and Asians with higher test scores have been disadvantaged in favor of minority demographics under these policies. The ruling was a resounding call for a return to evaluating individuals based on their merits rather than their race.
Before this ruling, the UMKC’s career pipeline program explicitly stated its intention to favor diverse applicants over non-diverse candidates. The program’s designers were clear in their goals: “To meet our equity-focused programmatic goals, campus internship selection will be equitable such that qualified applicants from underserved and underrepresented cohorts… will be provided first choice.” This approach, many argue, is the very definition of discrimination that the Supreme Court sought to eliminate.
In an interview with The Daily Wire’s Spencer Lindquist, conservative activist Charlie Kirk weighed in on the ongoing DEI controversy. Kirk warned of the dangers of prioritizing DEI initiatives over competence, especially in critical areas like national defense. “Right now, we’re seeing military conflicts increasing across the globe, and this report has found what the DoD has been focusing on,” Kirk said. “The Department of Defense has been focusing on expanding and pushing the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion agenda, the DEI agenda.”
Lindquist further exposed the DoD’s questionable priorities, revealing contracts with various organizations that have been pushing anti-white and anti-male DEI job pipelines into the department. Such initiatives have raised concerns about whether the focus on DEI is compromising the effectiveness of our military forces at a time when global threats are on the rise.
The Supreme Court’s decision, authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, was a strong rebuke of racial preferences in any form. Roberts wrote, “Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it.” His words serve as a reminder that true equality under the law cannot be achieved by perpetuating discrimination, even in the name of equity.
As the DoD and other federal agencies adjust their policies in light of this ruling, it is a hopeful sign that merit and fairness will once again take precedence in America’s institutions. The Supreme Court’s decision is a step in the right direction, ensuring that all Americans are judged not by the color of their skin, but by their individual talents, achievements, and character.
