{"id":1541110,"date":"2022-07-06T08:51:32","date_gmt":"2022-07-06T12:51:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1541110"},"modified":"2022-07-06T08:51:36","modified_gmt":"2022-07-06T12:51:36","slug":"gop-lawmakers-call-for-inquiry-into-new-state-department-woke-czar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-lawmakers-call-for-inquiry-into-new-state-department-woke-czar\/","title":{"rendered":"GOP Lawmakers Call for Inquiry Into New State Department &#8220;Woke Czar&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgop-lawmakers-call-for-inquiry-into-new-state-department-woke-czar%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1541110&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/justthenews.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/social_media_share\/public\/2020-03\/GettyImages-1157263207.jpg?h=199d8c1f&#038;itok=JQGStagU\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p>Republican lawmakers are calling for an inquiry into a new State Department equity position they are calling a \u201cwoke czar.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Republicans on the House Oversight Committee are leading the charge against President Joe Biden\u2019s appointment last month of Desir\u00e9e Cormier Smith as the first \u201cspecial representative\u201d for the State Department\u2019s \u201cEquity Action Plan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Special Representative position continues the Biden Administration\u2019s prioritization of a radical, progressive agenda the American people consistently reject,\u201d the letter said. \u201cCommittee Republicans question the necessity of this new position. Further, we are concerned about wasting taxpayer dollars on an undefined role which categorizes and further divides Americans instead of focusing on the Department\u2019s mission to \u2018protect and promote U.S. security, prosperity, and democratic values and shape an international environment in which all Americans can thrive.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Special Representative is the latest evidence the Biden Administration is willing to devote time, funding, and other government resources to enact divisive policies,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n<p>The State Department said in its announcement that Smith would \u201chelp ensure that racial equity and support for underserved communities remains central to our foreign policy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a State Department video in the rollout for her position, Smith pointed to Biden\u2019s new \u201cwhole of government approach\u201d to advancing \u201cequity\u201d by \u201ccentering it in our foreign policy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Republicans argued that focus is a distraction from bigger national security goals and is actually just a vehicle for advancing a \u201cradical, progressive agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The letter points to reports that Smith would also be tasked with dealing with disinformation, an effort that has landed federal agencies in hot water in recent months.<\/p>\n<p>The lawmakers pointed to the Department of Homeland Security\u2019s new Disinformation Governance Board, which has been the subject of much pushback and saw its leader ousted after her controversial social media videos surfaced.<\/p>\n<p>They also requested documents, communications, procedures and more related to the position.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Special Representative makes the United States the global mouthpiece for divisive ideologies rather than democracy, equality, and freedom,\u201d the letter said. \u201cAs the American people struggle under the Biden Administration\u2019s domestic and foreign policy, Committee Republicans question the value and wisdom of continuing to pursue an agenda grounded in waste and division. Committee Republicans are concerned with the Biden Administration\u2019s emphasis on \u2018equity,\u2019 which \u2013 by the Administration\u2019s highest-ranked officials\u2019 own admissions \u2013 often runs contrary to the American ideal of equality.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInequity, racism, and xenophobia are threats to Democracy and run contrary to the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, yet they remain a painful part of the lived experiences of many people around the world,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Democrats welcomed the new role after Smith\u2019s appointment was announced in June.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe applaud the Biden administration\u2019s creation of the new position of Special Representative for Racial Equity and Justice as a positive step forward in our continued efforts to advance a freer, more just, and inclusive global society,\u201d U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a joint statement. \u201cThe appointment will play a critical role in streamlining our efforts to secure human rights and fight inequality around the world. As we called for in our letters to Senate and House Appropriations Committees last year, the new position reflects the strength of our nation\u2019s commitment to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion in international affairs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs we face the rise of authoritarian regimes pushing racist rhetoric, discriminatory laws, and other fear-based tactics to undermine basic human rights and governance, the Special Representative will work to ensure that our policy and programs promote the safety, security, and prosperity of marginalized communities worldwide,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n<p>The State Department did not reply to request for comment in time for publication.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Republican lawmakers are calling for an inquiry into a new State Department equity position they are calling a \u201cwoke czar.\u201dRepublicans on the House Oversight Committee are leading the charge against<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1541200,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1541110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1541110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1541110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1541110\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1541200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1541110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1541110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1541110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}