J.D. Vance boasts about nixing military DEI

Vice President J.D. Vance on Wednesday crowed to corpsmen at the Marine Corps base in Quantico that the administration was making good on the promise to eliminate diversity equity and inclusion initiatives in the military.

Mr. Vance, a Marine Corps veteran who served in the Iraq War, said the White House cares more about  “excellence” and about “patriotism.”

“If you are awesome and you are a patriotic young Marine, then we are going to do everything that we can to make you the most lethal fighting force the world has ever seen,” he said. “And that is what we’re doing every single day. No more quotas, no more ridiculous mumbo jumbo, no more diversity training.”

He continued, “We believe the real strength and the real diversity in the United States Marine Corps is that you all come from every walk of life, come from every corner of America, and you have got the strength and the purpose to win the nation’s wars.”

“That is what the Marine Corps is going to do, just like it’s done for damn near 250 years.”

President Trump in January signed an executive order banning DEI initiatives in the military. He also did away with the use of race- or sex-based preferences in the armed forces, the Defense Department and the Homeland Security Department.

Another executive order directed officials to formulate a policy on transgender troops, which led to a Feb. 26 directive for service branches to identify service members “who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria.”

The deadline to identify them was Wednesday, and those service members are to be separated or removed from the military unless they obtain a special waiver by June 25.