Pentagon's Gil Cisneros grilled on Kelisa Wing probe
The Pentagon said it would not bring disciplinary action against its former diversity, equity and inclusion chief over a series of divisive statements about White people.
The State Department implemented a policy to condition eligibility for promotions on an employee's ability to pass a loyalty test in diversity, equity and inclusion in order to be considered for promotions and higher pay following President Biden's executive order.
Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, President Obama's former Malta ambassador, was appointed as chief diversity and inclusion officer in April 2021 for the State Department. She was in the position until June 2023.
According to Abercrombie-Winstanley, State created a policy under Biden that conditions promotions on whether employees are able to demonstrate through documentation that they are actively involved in DEI practices.
"We made the change that if you wanted to be considered for promotion at the Department of State, you must be able to document what you are doing to support diversity, equity and inclusion and accessibility. This is how you are judged for promotion," she said at a City Club Forum event in April 2023. "So that means my allies who are not female or minority are also interested in being able to show 'I'm doing good work on this.'"
Gina Abercrombie-Winstanleys term ended on June 30, 2023. (Fox News Digital)
When reached for comment, Abercrombie-Winstanley told Fox News Digital, "America needs her best. The Department wants leaders who can develop top talent among all Americans, whatever our background. Not just those who share our life experiences."
The subject of her speaking engagement at the City Club Forum event was the Biden administration's "Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Strategic Plan 2022 – 2026."
In an announcement about the plan, State said it was working on "Establishing the advancement of [DEI] as an element for all employees as part of their job performance criteria, career advancement opportunities, and senior performance pay."
All levels of the State Department – Washington and abroad – were affected by the mandate, according to the plan.
DEI = Diversity, equity & inclusion. (Dzmitry Dzemidovich)
"We will ensure that the Department of State is a leader in government-wide efforts to advance DEIA goals for the federal workforce. In doing that, we will also be able to ensure that the Department itself is in the strongest possible position to deliver for the U.S. people," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said about the plan at the time.
The State Department declined to comment further on the DEI plan.
The strategic plan was created under Biden's June 2021 "Executive Order on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce."
The executive order "reinvigorate[d]… the approach… first established in the Obama-Biden Administration" and directed all federal agencies to "establish or elevate Chief Diversity Officers," among other priorities.
The order was also responsible for the formation of senior DEI positions, such as the one previously held by Abercrombie-Winstanley and now occupied by Zakiya Carr Johnson, the new State Department diversity chief.
Carr Johnson has made waves over her past remarks blasting America as a "failed historical model."
"[W]e've literally got to be about the work of dismantling that traditional structure at every juncture," she said in 2020.
The State Department told Fox News Digital it had "high confidence" in Carr Johnson's ability to lead after her statements were revealed Wednesday.
Zakiya Carr Johnson is a diversity chief at the State Department. (Fox News Digital | Getty)
Another diversity chief appointed under Biden who sowed controversy over commentary on White people, Kelisa Wing, had her DEI unit in the Pentagon disbanded after congressional fury over her posts.
She wrote in June 2020, "I'm exhausted with these white folx in these [professional development] sessions."
Wing also said she needed a break from "White nonsense."
On another occasion, Wing responded to a user who said, "I am exhausted by 99% of the white men in education and 95% of the white women. Where can I get a break from White nonsense for a while?"
Wing also co-created children's books that said that White people must confess their privilege and were de facto hurting Black people by being benefactors of unearned advantages.