A new report has uncovered that the Pentagon has spent millions of dollars of taxpayer money into installing diversity, equity and inclusion into science and medical fields.
According to the Washington Examiner, who uncovered the spending, the money was reportedly spent on various initiatives ranging from improving racial equity in prostate cancer treatment, to increasing diversity in marine mammal research. Approximately $18.4 million in Pentagon grants were geared towards installing DEI into technical fields, dating all the way back to former President Barack Obama’s administration.
Heritage Foundation national security policy adviser, Wilson Beaver, told the Washington Examiner that large sums of money are being spent on projects that have nothing to do with defense.
“Research and development spending in the Department of Defense contains large sums of money being spent on non-defense spending, ‘centers of excellence’ sponsored as pork spending by congressmen never requested by the Pentagon, and politicized initiatives like DEI and climate change,” Beaver said. “This sort of spending needs to be cut and reallocated into the procurement of weapons systems like ships, planes, and munitions that our troops need to protect the national security interests of the United States.”
President Donald Trump‘s administration has taken control of federal spending alongside the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), but to date, the Pentagon has only had a small number of contracts cut that were still funding DEI training.
The Washington Examiner further reported the largest STEM DEI contract they uncovered that was paid for by the Pentagon, was $10 million in military funding to the Inclusive Cancer Care Research Equity for Black Men Consortium, a group of universities and health organizations that research prostate cancer treatment for black men.
Trump signed an executive order in January, axing all federal funding to DEI, however, millions in funding continues to go to the consortium and other STEM-related DEI projects, per the outlet.
