Is the Pentagon spending $86 billion on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives? No, that's not true: The most recent budget request in April 2024 asked for $162 million. The Fox News guest who originally suggested the much higher number has since retracted her statement.
The claim appeared in a post on X (archived here) on November 18, 2024. It said:
BREAKING: The Pentagon is reportedly legitimately concerned that Pete Hegseth if appointed Secretary of Defense will immediately defund the close to $86 BILLION spent on DEI initiatives in the Pentagon.
Here's what the post looked like at the time of writing:
(Source: X screenshot taken on Tue Nov 19 16:59:03 2024 UTC)
The $86 billion figure was mentioned earlier on November 18, 2024, by political commentator Kaylee McGee White (archived here) while appearing on Fox News. In a clip posted on X (archived here), White said this:
The Pentagon is legitimately scared of Pete Hegseth because of his opposition to DEI. Keep in mind, the Defense Department is spending around $86 billion right now on various DEI initiatives.
The full version of the segment in which the $86 billion figure was used is here on the Fox News website, with White making the comment at the 1:40 mark.
Hegseth is President-elect Donald Trump's choice to become defense secretary when Trump takes office in January. Diversity, equity and inclusion programs are popular targets (archived here) for the incoming administration.
However, Pentagon spending records show actual costs for DEI programs are in the millions, not billions, of dollars.
In its most recent budget proposal for fiscal year 2025, the Pentagon requested $162 million for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility programs. On page 18 of chapter 4 (page 76 of the link above), the Defense Department writes the money is for "ensuring our entire workforce lives by fundamental values that bolster unit cohesion, fortify individual and collective strengths, promote innovative solutions to complex challenges, and culminate in efficient mission execution."
White admitted on her X page (archived here) on November 19, 2024, that she made a mistake with her numbers.
Quick point of clarification: yesterday on America Reports I cited this figure, which clearly was inaccurate. I should have said $86 million. However, my point stands: any number of zeroes spent by our Defense Department on DEI is unnecessary, wasteful, and counterproductive to the military's primary purpose.
In Chapter 4, page 34 of the Pentagon budget for Fiscal Year 2023 (page 87 of link in this sentence), $86.5 million is provided to fund DEI programs.
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