Birmingham Mayor Randall L. Woodfin on Thursday criticized President Donald Trump’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) executive orders, suggesting that Americans are now seeing the “Alabama-fication” of the United States federal government.
During an appearance on “CNN This Morning,” Woodfin claimed that white women and veterans benefit the most from DEI policies — not just Black Americans and other minority groups.
“What message and who are you trying to get across? And so it’s beyond frustrating and disappointing. It just goes to show that 47 told us what he would do, and he does,” Woodfin said.
WHITE HOUSE OPM IS PROPOSING TO CLOSE ALL DEI OFFICES BEFORE THE END OF THE DAY WEDNESDAY
Birmingham Mayor Randall L. Woodfin claims Americans are now witnessing the federal government’s “Alabama-fication.” (Win McNamee/GREG NASH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Birmingham’s mayor also disagreed with critics who said DEI programs have gone too far in some areas.
“Look, we made the words diversity, we made the words equality, we, as in others, made those words of inclusion bad words. Inclusion is not a bad thing. There is no such thing as going too far when it is about being inclusive,” he said.
“There’s no such thing as going too far when it comes to equality. This is America. Equality is the right thing to do. There’s no such thing as diversity being bad. America is a very diverse place. I think diversity, equality and inclusion It has become a weapon for some to say it has been taken away from others,” Woodfin continued.
TRUMP’S DISMANTLING OF DEI IS DEEPER AND BIGGER THAN YOU EVEN KNOW
Criticism of DEI commitments intensified after last year’s Supreme Court affirmative action ruling, which banned racial preferences in college admissions. (Getty Images)
Trump signed an executive order on Monday eliminate all DEI programs of the federal government.
Trump issued two other executive actions targeting DEI on Tuesday — an executive order to end discrimination in the workplace and higher education through race- and gender-based preferences under the guise of DEI, and a memo to eliminate a Biden administration policy that prioritized DEI hiring at the Federal Aviation Administration.
Just two days into office, Trump is making waves in Washington, and a new Fox News poll shows that the voters are behind him. Nearly a third of voters, 29%, agreed that it is “extremely important” that Trump focuses on getting DEI out of government. Broken down by party, 44% of Republicans, 16% of Democrats and 24% of independents want the president to eliminate federal DEI initiatives.
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US President Donald Trump signs documents while issuing executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House on Inauguration Day in Washington, US, January 20, 2025. (REUTERS/Carlos Barria)
The Republican Party-controlled Alabama Legislature passed sweeping legislation in March 2020 to ban state funding of diversity, equity and inclusion programs at public colleges and universities, local boards of education and state agencies, and that would limit teaching on “divisive concepts” at public colleges and universities.
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Pointing to his state’s laws, Woodfin said Americans have “seen this dance before” regarding DEI restrictions.
“Listen, the unfortunate part of this conversation about DEI stripping: Americans are witnessing the Alabama-fication of the federal government,” he said.
