FBI shuttered its DEI office after Trump’s election win as critics demand national security focus

The FBI quietly closed its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) office a month after President-elect Donald Trump’s 2024 election victory, The Post has learned. 

“In recent weeks, the FBI took steps to close the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI), effective by December 2024,” the bureau said in a statement provided to The Post. 

The federal law enforcement agency did not say what its motivation was to shutter the office, but the move follows Trump’s campaign pledge to roll back DEI initiatives as commander in chief. 

The FBI closed its DEI office soon after Trump’s 2024 election win. REUTERS

The bureau has also come under intense scrutiny from Republicans in the aftermath of the Jan. 1 New Orleans terrorist attack over fears that it prioritized DEI over national security. 

“The question is why were they allowed to be focused on DEI in the first place?” Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) said in a statement to The Post, reacting to the closure of the diversity and inclusion office. 

“The FBI should be focused on catching criminals, not winning participation trophies,” the senator added.

Blackburn, 72, had shared her fears about the FBI’s alleged focus on DEI with outgoing FBI Director Christopher Wray earlier this month. 

In a letter to Wray, Blackburn argued that under his leadership the FBI “has settled for lower quality candidates to satisfy DEI mandates.” 

“To that end, I am deeply concerned that — under your leadership — the Bureau has prioritized Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives over its core mission of protecting the American people,” she wrote. 

Wray announced last month that he would resign as director of the FBI when Trump takes office. Getty Images

Blackburn noted that several retired agents informed the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government in 2023 that “the law enforcement and intelligence capabilities of the FBI are degrading because the FBI is no longer hiring ‘the best and the brightest’ candidates.’”

“Put simply, your focus on woke DEI initiatives at the FBI has endangered our national security and the lives of all Americans,” she added. “Americans now feel increasingly unsafe because of incidents like the January 1 terror attack, and the FBI’s prioritization of diversity over competence shows that their concerns are well founded.” 

Some Republicans have accused the FBI of prioritizing DEI over national security. AFP via Getty Images

Wray, 58, announced last month that he would resign from the bureau when Trump takes office on Jan. 20. 

Trump, 78, has tapped former White House national security official Kash Patel to lead the FBI in his second term. 

Patel, a longtime ally of the incoming president, must be confirmed by the Senate before taking on the role.