[WASHINGTONTIMES] The Health and Human Services Department employs 294 people whose jobs focus on diversity, and the department maintains seven ''minority health'' offices spread across its agencies, according to a report that suggests unwinding it all will be tough for the incoming Trump administration.
The majority of those staffers, 182 workers, are paid six-figure salaries. The top diversity job earner, who works at the Food and Drug Administration, collected $221,000 in 2023, OpenTheBooks said in its report Tuesday.
The watchdog said spending on the diversity, equity and inclusion agenda ''permeated'' the department, appearing 829 times in its 2025 budget and totaling hundreds of millions of dollars in direct spending.
Among the costs were vaccine programs explicitly aimed at gay Black men, money earmarked for opioid programs that vowed to tackle ''systemic racism,'' a $5 million proposal to ''diversify the doula workforce'' and $5,000 to pay for an appearance by Ibram X. Kendi, a leading ''antiracism'' voice. A doula is a person who provides support for people undergoing significant health-related experiences such as childbirth.
''When it comes to DEI and health equity spending, payroll expenses are a drop in the bucket. Promoting these topics can be lucrative for federal employees looking to expand their agency's budget and for private scientists hoping to win grants,'' the analysts said. |