Adam Kredo of the Washington Free Beacon reports on the U.S. State Department’s questionable priorities.
Two weeks after President-elect Donald Trump’s November election victory, the Biden-Harris State Department issued an internal diplomatic cable that touted sweeping diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives across the agency, including dedicated “reflection rooms” and “all-gender restrooms” at American embassies abroad.
The Nov. 19 cable, issued by outgoing secretary of state Antony Blinken and reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon, is part of a larger Biden administration bid to embed DEI initiatives within the federal government before Trump takes office next year.
In some cases, that’s meant rebranding job titles “promoting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” in an attempt to make them less noticeable to Trump, the Washington Post reported. The State Department’s cable, however, is open in its embrace of DEI.
Titled, “Developing a More Inclusive and Accessible Work Environment,” the internal message “outlines efforts the Department is taking, in both domestic and overseas locations, to create workplaces that are welcoming, inclusive, and accessible to all employees and visitors.” It references Blinken’s so-called Modernization Agenda, which it says “calls for a work environment that is resilient, agile, secure, and inclusive.”
The State Department circulated the cable, which includes Blinken’s signature, among “all diplomatic and consular posts.”
It touts ongoing efforts to “establish dedicated reflection rooms” in “domestic and overseas facilities” for “employees who want a quiet space or place to meditate during the day.” The cable goes on to reference a “Reflection Room Repository,” which tells employees how they can locate the rooms at various “overseas Posts and domestic facilities.”
“It includes details such as building name, room number, and instructions on location,” the cable says of the repository. “All overseas Posts and domestic facilities are encouraged to submit information about their reflection space using the Reflection Room Location Guide Update form.”