Biden’s DEI mandates creating very real national security threats

Biden White House has turned the focus of our national security operation away from terrorism and other threats instead to DEI, as government embraces wrong set of priorities.

The first time I visited the Central Intelligence Agency’s headquarters in 2020 while working in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the hallways were lined with graphics touting various DEI programs and initiatives and proclaiming the importance of each officer’s "identity." "TRANS LIVES ARE HUMAN LIVES," read one handmade poster hanging outside of the cafeteria.  Cliff Sims served as deputy director of National Intelligence for Strategy & Communications. His upcoming book, "The Darkness Has Not Overcome: Lessons on Faith & Politics From Inside the Halls of Power," is due out May 7, 2024. 

It’s an ironic response, considering the aggressiveness with which the left has imposed its woke cultural ideology on American institutions. But regardless of where one stands on that debate – or whether one cares at all – the Biden administration has made reaching various diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) benchmarks a top goal in its National Intelligence Strategy, and we should consider the implications of this prioritization on U.S. national security.  

One of the most important roles of a leader in any organization is to set clear priorities. This is a particularly difficult challenge for the director of National Intelligence, who nominally oversees a sprawling enterprise of 18 organizations and agencies, and roughly 100,000 people.