Fire and police departments “unjustly” targeted by the Biden administration pushing DEI initiatives got a reprieve from Attorney General Pam Bondi.
She directed the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice to dismiss diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) lawsuits that were brought under President Joe Biden against police and fire departments nationwide.
“These lawsuits, launched by the previous administration, unjustly targeted fire and police departments for using standard aptitude tests to screen firefighter and police officer candidates,” a DOJ press release stated.
Attorney General Pam Bondi Dismisses DEI Lawsuits Involving Police Officers and Firefighters, Advances President Trump’s Mandate to End Illegal DEI Policies
🔗: https://t.co/iyBoL0WbVK pic.twitter.com/rUPttpEJyF
— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) February 27, 2025
“American communities deserve firefighters and police officers to be chosen for their skill and dedication to public safety – not to meet DEI quotas,” Bondi said in a statement.
Despite no evidence of intentional discrimination — only statistical disparities — the prior administration branded the aptitude tests at issue in these cases as discriminatory in an effort to advance a DEI agenda. And it sought to coerce cities into conducting DEI-based hiring in response and spending millions of dollars in taxpayer funds for payouts to previous applicants who had scored lower on the tests, regardless of qualifications,” the Wednesday news release noted.
“Prioritizing DEI over merit when selecting firefighters and police officers jeopardizes public safety,” it continued. “Today’s dismissal is an early step toward eradicating illegal DEI preferences across the government and in the private sector.”
All “equity-related” contracts and grants in federal government agencies were canceled in an executive order signed by the president in January.
One of the lawsuits was filed against the City of Durham, North Carolina, last October, alleging “unintentional” discrimination “against Black applicants because they did not pass the written test with a score of 70% or better as often as White candidates did, which resulted in fewer Black employees,” Fox News reported.
Maryland State Police were accused of “illegally discriminating against Black applicants and women” in another lawsuit. This followed the Civil Rights Division finding that “Black applicants passed the test less often than White applicants and because women passed the physical test less often than men.”
South Bend, Indiana, and Cobb County, Georgia, saw similar lawsuits, according to Fox News.
Earlier this month, Bondi explained in an internal DOJ memo that the department’s Civil Rights Division will “investigate, eliminate, and penalize illegal DEI and DEIA preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities in the private sector and in educational institutions that receive federal funds.”
