Democrats need to leave our first responders alone.
Trump’s Department of Justice recently dismissed several lawsuits targeting police and fire departments across the nation, which were filed under the Biden administration in response to alleged racial disparities in hiring practices. These lawsuits, largely centered on the idea that aptitude tests used by these departments were discriminatory, sought to impose race-based hiring mandates. However, the DOJ determined that the lawsuits lacked evidence of intentional discrimination, and the departments had utilized neutral selection methods, such as written exams and physical tests, which tended to favor white men.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, in a statement, underscored the importance of hiring qualified individuals based on merit rather than meeting arbitrary Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) quotas. “Our communities deserve the best, most skilled firefighters and police officers—individuals selected for their expertise, not to satisfy race-based quotas,” she said.
One of the cases, filed in October 2024 against the City of Durham, North Carolina, claimed that Black applicants were unintentionally discriminated against because they were less likely to score 70% or higher on the written test. The proposed solution was to eliminate the written exam entirely and offer financial compensation to Black candidates who had been passed over. The potential monetary relief for this case alone was estimated at $980,000.
Similarly, another lawsuit against Maryland State Police in October 2024 argued that the agency’s use of written and physical tests unfairly impacted Black applicants and women. The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division alleged that these tests resulted in discrimination, proposing the abandonment of these neutral selection methods and suggesting a payout of $2.75 million to Black candidates and women who had not been hired due to these tests.
Cases like these were also filed in South Bend, Indiana, and Cobb County, Georgia. The dismissal of these lawsuits represents an important step in reversing the trend of imposing DEI-driven hiring practices, which many conservatives view as a misguided effort to prioritize diversity over merit. By rejecting these lawsuits, the DOJ has reaffirmed the importance of fair and equal opportunity for all candidates based on their abilities, not their race or gender.