FBI Chief Wray Asked About DEI Attacks on Kamala Harris — During Trump Assassination Hearing

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) brought up attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris as he questioned FBI Director Christopher Wray at a hearing about the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

On Wednesday, Wray testified at a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee to probe the July 13 assassination attempt that left Trump bloodied and Trump supporter/former firefighter Corey Comperatore dead as he shielded his family.

The hearing comes days after a disastrous House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing that resulted in the resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle.

One line of commentary on the incident from Trump allies has been to blame the shooting on “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” (DEI) policies that have become a popular political bogeyman among conservatives.

“DEI hire” has also become a theme of attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris — the first Black VP and first Black woman to become a major party’s presumptive nominee for president.

During his questioning of Wray, Nadler combined those themes when he asked about the effect of DEI on the bureau:

REP. JERRY NADLER: During my remaining time, I wanted to turn to a different matter.

In recent days, Republican members of Congress have attacked presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris as a, quote, DEI candidate, which presumably is code for women and a person of color.

It’s not a new theme for them. In May, Chairman Jordan wrote to you claiming that because of DEI initiatives, the FBI is no longer hiring, quote, “the best and brightest candidates to fill the position of Special Agent.”

With remaining time, with my remaining time, director, can you please answer the following questions?

Is it true that hiring women and people of color means that FBI is no longer hiring the best and the brightest to serve as law enforcement officers?

Is there any evidence that women and people of color are less effective in law enforcement roles?

And what message is sent to prospective applicants when the leaders demean them and make judgments about them based solely on their race and gender? Witness may respond.

DIR. CHRISTOPHER WRAY: So any notion that we have lowered our standards, our hiring standards, is just not accurate. In fact, our standards are as competitive and selective as ever.

We have tens of thousands of people applying, and our selection rate is about 3.1%, which is more selective than just about any university in the country. And most of our applicants, I think, something like 50% of them are coming from military or law enforcement backgrounds.

About 50% of them also have advanced degrees. The average age is around 31, which means they’re bringing a wealth of personal and professional experience when they arrive.

And to suggest that those people, because of efforts related to diversity or anything like that, are less qualified, frankly, is not at all consistent with what I see.

Having visited all of our field offices and seeing these young people in action, I think is an insult to those hardworking men and women who’ve signed up to dedicate their lives for this country.

REP. JERRY NADLER: Thank you. Director. I yield back.

Watch above via C-SPAN.