Trump deep-sixed DEI — but is it undead at major federal contractors like Lockheed Martin?



President Donald Trump has endeavored to ram a stake through the heart of the federal DEI regime.

He kicked off his second term by requiring that the head of every federal agency, department, or commission see to the elimination of all DEI offices, positions, initiatives, programs, contracts, and performance requirements; ordering the government to eliminate DEI discrimination in the federal workforce as well as in federal contracting and spending; tasking his inbound attorney general with preparing a civil rights-focused pressure campaign against DEI practitioners in the private sector; and rescinding numerous race- and identity-centered executive orders issued by Democrat presidents.

While Trump has since enjoyed tremendous success in eliminating various DEI initiatives across the government, it appears that there is still much work to be done.

The 1792 Exchange, a corporate bias watchdog seeking to restore political neutrality in the boardroom and to educate lawmakers about the dangers of woke corporate policies, recently released an analysis of the top 100 federal contractors by dollars obligated in fiscal year 2023.

The report highlights the apparent ideological capture and woke policies of a number of corporate juggernauts on the list, including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and the RTX Corporation, formerly Raytheon.

"The American people have the right to know if our hard-earned money is subsidizing any corporation's subversive ideological programs," 1792 Exchange CEO Daniel Cameron said in a statement.

"President Trump has taken bold action to remove DEI programming from federal institutions, including government contractors," continued Cameron. "This report empowers government agencies and legislators to align procurement decisions with that vision of neutrality and excellence."

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 Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

Of the 100 contractors that the 1792 Exchange analyzed, 36 were characterized as "high risk," 16 as "medium risk," and 46 as "lower risk," on the basis of "publicly documented alignment with DEI-driven policies and practices."

The watchdog noted that high-risk companies "have demonstrated a pattern of engaging in DEI practices that prioritize ideological conformity over merit-based considerations."

Examples of such practices include recruitment, hiring, and promotion on the basis of immutable characteristics and sexual preference; requiring employees to suffer through training sessions on gender ideology and critical race theory; and corporate alignment on philanthropy and marketing strategies with "progressive social agendas."

While some big organizations appear to have read the writing on the wall and reversed course on DEI — 1792 indicated that Accenture, AT&T, IBM, Booz Allen Hamilton, and IBM have rolled back at least some of their most divisive DEI policies — others have dug in their feet.

Seven out of the top 10 recipients of federal dollars on the 1792 Exchange's list of U.S. government contractors were labeled "high risk." They were, in order from biggest to smallest recipients of federal dollars obligated: Lockheed Martin, the RTX Corporation (formerly Raytheon), the Boeing Company, Northrop Grumman, Optum360, Leidos, and McKesson.

'Compliance with the CEI naturally leads to ceding nearly all facets of corporate governance to the HRC's influence.'

BAE Systems and Honeywell, though farther down the list, similarly appear to be big offenders in terms of DEI initiatives.

Lockheed Martin, at the top of the list, "yields to political activism in shaping corporate governance, potentially alienating consumers, dividing employees, and harming shareholders"; "implements race and identity-based policies that replace merit, excellence, and integrity with preferential treatment and outcomes"; and "embraces corporate initiatives that redirect its central focus from business goals to partisan policies and divisive issues," according to the 1792 Exchange.

Part of what gave the company away was its perfect score on the 2025 Corporate Equality Index from the non-straight activist organization Human Rights Campaign, as well as its receipt of the "Equality 100 Award: Leader in LGBTQ+ Workplace Equality" distinction from the activist group.

Many of the scoring criteria for both the 2025 CEI and the so-called equality award appear to require corporate violations of federal policy.

While the watchdog outfit did not go out of its way to put CEI scores as a top consideration when assessing risk, Dustin DeVito, the 1792 Exchange's director of corporate research, told Blaze News that "compliance with the CEI naturally leads to ceding nearly all facets of corporate governance to the HRC's influence."

"1792 Exchange's company ratings center around six criteria: ideologically driven cancellation, charitable work, employment policies, reputation, funding, and political action," continued DeVito. "The CEI touches on all of these."

When pressed for comment, Lockheed Martin referred Blaze News to its Jan. 23 statement, which claimed:

Merit-based talent management programs and compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, contracts, and directives have always been central to this mission. We are taking immediate action to ensure continued compliance and full alignment with President Trump’s recent executive order. We will not have goals or incentives based on demographic representation or affirmative action plans. Additionally, our training offerings are compliant with Executive Order 13950 from President Trump's first administration.

The RTX Corporation was slapped with the same broad critiques as Lockheed Martin. A closer look revealed precisely why.

The company similarly rated high on the 2025 CEI partly because the company apparently "will not donate to non-religious charities unless they embrace controversial sexual identity policies"; requires employees to attend "multiple, controversial trainings on gender identity, sexual orientation, transgender issues, and divisive racial ideology"; covers medical transvestism costs for employees and their children; and publicly advocates for "controversial sex and gender ideology through local, state, or federal legislation or initiatives."

When pressed for comment, RTX directed Blaze News to a Jan. 24 company statement that said, "RTX is taking the necessary actions to comply with the presidential executive orders."

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 Blaze Media Illustration

Both Boeing — whose executive compensation plan the 1792 Exchange claimed "devalued the weight of product and employee safety in its operational performance metrics, in order to include diversity, equity, and inclusion as a consideration" in recent years — and Northrop Grumman also scored 100% on the 2025 CEI, meaning that it likely jumped through many of the same hoops as other "high-risk" organizations.

Blaze News reached out to Boeing and Northrop Grumman as well as to top "high-risk" companies McKesson, Honeywell, Leidos, Optum360, and BAE Systems for comment.

Northrop Grumman directed Blaze News to another months-old statement indicating that work was under way to ensure the company was in compliance with the president's executive orders.

"We are actively reviewing our policies and processes and taking the necessary steps to ensure compliance with the presidential executive orders for the work entrusted to us," said the Northrop Grumman statement. "Underpinned by our values, we hire, promote, and pay based on merit and performance, resulting in the best team to deliver for our customers."

A company spokesperson for BAE Systems told Blaze News, "As a federal contractor, we continuously evaluate our policies and programs to ensure continued compliance with all applicable legal requirements, including executive orders, and we will continue to hire, promote, and compensate based on merit."

The other companies did not respond by publication time.

The 1792 Exchange has invited any companies on its list to submit corrections to the data if they have taken meaningful steps to comply with Trump's executive orders.

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Another Major LGBT Pride Event Bleeds Corporate Sponsors During Trump’s Second Term

Capital City Pride, a big-budget pro-LGBT event in Des Moines, Iowa, faces a large loss of corporate support going into June 2025’s Pride Month festivities. Capital City Pride could lose up to $75,000 in corporate sponsorships, the event’s executive director, Wes Mullins, told Axios. The pullback reflects a corporate trend, as businesses have reduced their participation […]

Woke pastor teams up with Al Sharpton to revive Target’s woke agenda



Dr. Jamal Bryant, a liberal black preacher at a Baptist megachurch in Georgia, is angry that Target stores have dropped the secular left’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative. And so, along with Al Sharpton, he has urged black people to boycott Target.

Bryant is leading a deceitful political scam while insisting he is a man who seeks to help black people. DEI has never been about that. Instead, proponents of DEI play the race card, using black Americans to advance what amounts to a godless agenda. Worse, in pressuring Target to restore DEI, this man of the cloth is undermining the gains Christians have made in getting the retailer to remove homosexual-themed children’s clothing from their stores.

Should Bryant’s boycott grow enough to overwhelm complacent Christians, it could possibly provide Target a new political lifeline (and excuse) to reverse course on DEI.

As many will recall, back in 2023, Target made national news when conservative influencers and media outlets reported how the national retailer was using customer profits to target children with a marketing campaign promoting pro-homosexual-themed apparel. This was bad enough by itself.

You boycotted, Target listened

What added insult to injury was the way Target seemed to be riding a wave of some organized propaganda campaign pushing drag-queen story hours — where perverse men dressed in women’s clothing would read books to children — often while behaving in lewd and suggestive ways.

As a result, a tsunami of public outrage ensued, and an untold number of Americans immediately decided to boycott Target stores.

It made a difference: Target got the message that the bulk of its consumers reject the woke agenda. In June 2024, the retailer announced that it would no longer sell children’s apparel as part of its “Pride Collection.” Even though Target still sells merchandise that promotes the homosexual lifestyle, the removal of this apparel from the children’s departments is nonetheless a victory for morality.

This victory was followed by President Donald Trump’s executive order against DEI in January, which prompted Target to join other major companies — including Walmart, McDonald’s, and Ford — in announcing it would end several corporate DEI initiatives.

A counter-boycott

This is when the left-wing preacher Bryant stepped into the breach to stage a counter-boycott that attempted to mimic what conservatives had done.

Protesting against the corporate practices that include selling homosexual-themed paraphernalia to children is an odd move for a man with the title of preacher — one would hope he is in agreement with biblical values.

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  Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images

In fact, Bryant has never publicly denounced Target’s previous practices. Yet, he’s chosen now to speak up and fight for Target to restore DEI. And so has Twin Cities Pride, a homosexual activist group, which also lashed out at Target for ending its DEI initiatives.

Seeing that Bryant is taking the same side as Twin Cities Pride, it’s hard not to conclude that Bryant’s passionate drive to pressure Target to reinstate DEI is motivated by his full-throated agreement with the far left’s secular agenda.

There’s more proof of this.

Woke, not Christian

Not long ago, Bryant appeared on a podcast and engaged in a heated exchange about political and spiritual matters with Pastor Mark Burns, a black conservative pastor who has gained fame for his support of President Trump.

The takeaway from some online viewers was that Bryant did not align with the standard scriptural interpretation that the Bible supports only traditional marriage and opposes abortion.

To make matters worse, Bryant seems to be making inroads with Target CEO Brian Cornell. In a symbolic gesture of agreement, Cornell reached out and met with Al Sharpton because of Bryant’s boycott.

It’s important to note that Cornell was also CEO of Target back in 2023 and had initially refused to back down from selling rainbow-colored onesies for infants and T-shirts that say, “Pride Adult Drag Queen ‘Katya,’” “Trans people will always exist!” and “Girls Gays Theys.” He was so adamant about pushing the homosexual agenda on kids that, in response to conservative backlash, he told the press that he thought it was “the right thing for society.” Cornell also admitted that this agenda is directly linked to Target’s DEI initiatives: “The things we’ve done from a DEI standpoint, it’s adding value,” Cornell said.

Hold the line

Based on these comments, can there be any doubt that Target would love to restore DEI, including its children’s “Pride Collection”? Of course not. But the social pressure against it is finally having an effect. That is, it was until Bryant and others began to get louder.

Let there be no doubt: Should Bryant’s boycott grow enough to overwhelm complacent Christians and conservatives, it could possibly provide Cornell a new political lifeline (and excuse) to reverse course on DEI. If that happens, you can bet that all perverse children’s merchandise will return to store shelves.

Editor’s note: A version of this article appeared originally at Chronicles Magazine.

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Alarm sounded over graffiti, flyers, online posts reacting to shooting death of health insurance company head



Police are investigating "Kill your CEO" graffiti spray-painted in white on multiple businesses over the weekend in Chicago, WLS-TV reported.

The vandalism comes after the targeted, fatal shooting last Wednesday of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, in New York City, the station said.

'F*** him may he rest in piss.'

As you might guess, it wasn't an isolated case.

WLS in a related report said a New York Police Department bulletin was issued Tuesday warning of increased risk for health care executives and the possibility of copycat perps.

The station, citing the bulletin, said online posts have listed the names and salaries of several health insurance executives, multiple "Wanted" flyers highlighting corporate executives have been posted throughout Manhattan, and social media users continue to celebrate Thompson's death.

WLS said many social media posts have heralded shooting suspect Luigi Mangione as a "martyr" — and the NYPD encouraged companies to increase precautions and security for executives since Thompson's fatal shooting could "inspire a variety of extremists and grievance-driven malicious actors to violence."

According to the station, the NYPD bulletin said "both prior to and after the suspected perpetrator's identification and arrest, some online users across social media platforms reacted positively to the killing, encouraged future targeting of similar executives, and shared conspiracy theories regarding the shooting."

WLS said the bulletin called out a viral social media post listing the names and salaries of eight health insurance company CEOs and that some online users viewed it as "a hitlist and that CEOs should be afraid."

The station added that the "Wanted" posters in Manhattan showed images of corporate executives and bullet-shaped graphics warning, "UnitedHealthcare killed everyday people for the sake of profit. As a result Brian Thompson was denied his claim to life. Who will be denied next?" and "Wall Street CEOs Should Not Feel Safe, Deny, Defend, Depose." Bullet casings found at the scene of Thompson's killing in front of a Manhattan Hilton hotel apparently were inscribed with words such as "delay” and “deny" which reportedly refer to health insurance claim denial tactics.

WLS added that the bulletin also included examples of online users saying Thompson deserved to be murdered due to his role in the health insurance industry, such as: "My mom was denied chemo multiple times and suffered tremendously they missed her cancer for two years because she was constantly denied... she will have life altering damage because of it. F*** him may he rest in piss."

Blaze News previously reported that just hours after Thompson was fatally shot, controversial, polarizing former Washington Post writer Taylor Lorenz posted online, "And people wonder why we want these executives dead."

What's more, Lorenz doubled down on her comments, telling Piers Morgan of "Piers Morgan Uncensored" on Monday that she "felt, along with so many other Americans, joy" upon learning of Thompson's slaying.

Glenn Beck, co-founder of Blaze Media, wrote an op-ed the day after Thompson's death that his killing "highlights a rising tide of anti-institutional rage" and that we have a choice "about whether we will uphold the principles of justice or descend into chaos."

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Corporate Music Is Killing Classic Country And Its American Values

[rebelmouse-proxy-image https://thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-04-at-2.02.04 PM-1200x675.png crop_info="%7B%22image%22%3A%20%22https%3A//thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-04-at-2.02.04%5Cu202fPM-1200x675.png%22%7D" expand=1]Large corporations have strayed from the American values of classic country music, but some young artists are keeping the tradition alive.

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How your smart TVs are spying on you and your loved ones



Once, not that long ago, televisions were beloved devices that brought families together for regular rituals of laughter, drama, and storytelling. But today, as we settle in for a night of streaming on our sleek smart TVs, that warmth feels increasingly distant. These modern monstrosities offer endless options and voice-activated convenience, but this comes at a steep price. While we put our feet up and enjoy our favorite shows, we’re also inviting a level of surveillance into our homes that would have been unthinkable a few decades ago.

According to a new report by the Center for Digital Democracy, smart TVs have become yet another cog in a massive, data-driven machine. Specifically, this machine is an ecosystem that harvests viewer data with military-like precision, prioritizing profits over privacy, individual autonomy, and, arguably, our collective well-being.

Big Brother isn't just in your living room — he knows what you’re watching, what you’re thinking, what you’re buying, and even where you’re going.

A Trojan horse in disguise

As the report details, these devices function as sophisticated surveillance tools, tracking viewers' every move across platforms. From Tubi to Netflix to Disney+, streaming services rely heavily on various data collection mechanisms to fuel a relentless advertising engine. These companies boast about their ability to collect "billions of rows of data" on their viewers, using machine learning algorithms to personalize the entire experience — from what shows are recommended to the ads viewers are served.

Tools like Automatic Content Recognition — built into TVs by companies such as LG, Samsung, and Roku — track and analyze everything you watch. ACR collects data frame by frame, creating detailed viewer profiles that are then used for targeted advertising. These profiles can include information about the devices in your home and the content you purchase, all feeding into a continuous feedback loop for advertisers. The more you watch, the more the system learns about you — and the greater its ability to shape your choices. The “non-skippable” ads, personalized to reflect intimate knowledge about viewers' behaviors and vulnerabilities, are particularly disturbing. They are engineered to be as compelling and intrusive as possible.

Smart TVs are living up to their names. They know everything about you. And I mean absolutely everything.

Data-driven manipulation

The streaming industry has rapidly grown into one of the most lucrative advertising sectors, with streaming platforms like Disney+, Netflix, and Amazon Prime attracting billions in ad revenue. As the report warns, these platforms now use advanced generative AI and machine learning to produce thousands of hyper-targeted ads in seconds — ads for Mom, ads for Dad, and ads for the little ones. By employing tools like identity graphs, which compile data from across an individual’s digital footprint, streaming services can track and target viewers on their televisions and throughout their entire digital lives. That's right. Smart TVs seamlessly interact with other smart devices, basically "talking" to each other and sharing valuable gossip.

This data collection goes far beyond tracking viewing habits. The report reveals that companies like Experian and TransUnion have developed identifiers that encompass deeply personal details, such as health information, financial status, and political views. Who will you vote for in November? You already know — and so does your TV.

Crooked capitalism

At its core, capitalism has been a driving force of innovation, progress, and prosperity. Its brilliance lies in its ability to harness human creativity and ambition, rewarding those who bring value to the market. In its purest form, capitalism is entirely meritocratic. Capitalism has lifted millions out of poverty through competition and the pursuit of profit. Capitalism helped make America the greatest nation known to man.

However, we see today a gross distortion of capitalism’s core principles. Surveillance capitalism has taken the place of pure capitalism. Instead of fostering innovation, this monstrous model feeds off personal data, often without our knowledge or consent. It preys particularly on vulnerable groups like children, exploiting their behaviors and emotions to turn a profit. The same system that once championed freedom now thrives on violating privacy, reducing human experiences to commodities.

Smart TVs and surveillance capitalism go hand in hand.

This raises an urgent question: What can we do about it? While it’s tempting to grab a sledgehammer and smash your nosy device into a million pieces, more practical solutions exist.

Start by diving into your TV's settings and disabling data tracking features such as ACR. You can also refuse to sign up for accounts or services that require extensive data sharing. For those willing to pay a bit more, opting for ad-free services can limit the data collected on your viewing habits, though it’s not a foolproof solution.

Additionally, advocating for stronger regulations on data privacy and transparency in advertising technologies is crucial. As consumers, we need to push policymakers to implement stricter laws that hold companies accountable for the data they collect and how they use it. Organizations like the Center for Digital Democracy, which authored this important report, are already fighting for these changes. This is a matter of critical importance. Close to 80% of homes in the U.S. have a smart TV.

Big Brother isn't just in your living room — he knows what you’re watching, what you’re thinking, what you’re buying, and even where you’re going. Not for the sledgehammer, I hope.

Nothing changes: House GOP greenlights $1.5 trillion inflation bomb



After handing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris everything they wanted on budget bills for the past two years, the duplicitous Republican-controlled House isn’t finished with its inflationary spending spree. Now, more than half of the House Republican Conference has sent a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and other House Republican leaders urging them to pass the statist farm bill during the upcoming lame-duck session.

Even after pushing through the Biden-Harris continuing resolution and railing against inflation on the campaign trail, Republicans can’t seem to control their appetite for the very policies fueling inflation, especially in the food industry.

As we hope for a victory less than three weeks from now, we better start planning for how this time will be different.

The $1.5 trillion farm and food stamp reauthorization bill is a prime example of the WWE-style fake political battles between the two parties. Every chance they get to reform, cut, or devolve programs to the states, Republicans not only fail to make a dent in the staggering level of inflationary spending, but they also add to the deficit above the existing baseline whenever they control Congress. They bicker over the rate of increase and some minor aspects of the program, only to give Democrats 95% of what they want, all while pretending to fight over 1% of the issue.

This reauthorization consists mostly of food stamps and other food assistance programs, amounting to about $1.2 trillion over five years. As for the remaining agricultural portions, both parties seem to agree on continuing nanny-state farm programs that bankrupt the country, distort agriculture and land-use markets, create monopolies for wealthy interests, and nationalize our food production.

In the House Agriculture Committee hearing earlier this year, both parties fought fiercely over the rate of food stamp increases, yet they ultimately agreed to lock in a baseline that is double what it was in 2008. Neither side proposed reforms, such as transitioning the program to the states, where anti-dependency initiatives like “Hope Florida” helped 27,500 individuals leave the program.

As a result, H.R. 8467, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024, passed the committee on May 23 with a 31-21 vote. Four Democrats joined every Republican in supporting the bill.

The 954-page monstrosity, which combines urban food stamp interests with large-scale farming interests, was designed to increase the overall price tag and extend federal control over state programs. The bill formalizes Biden’s illegal expansion of the Thrifty Food Plan and locks in a three-year annual cost-of-living increase. Ironically, this was viewed as a conservative win, as Democrats had pushed for even greater program growth during the amendment process.

Republicans secured "savings" by preventing further growth in food stamps, only to redirect $40 billion into farm subsidies. These subsidies fuel venture socialism at its worst, distorting agricultural decisions, enriching the wealthiest landowners — often foreign — and inflating land prices. Federal crop insurance has had the same effect on farming that Obamacare had on health care: driving up costs, accelerating mergers, and squeezing out independent farmers, much like it did to independent doctors. Just 10% of farmers receive 56% of subsidies.

A 2017 Congressional Research Service report noted that 94% of farm subsidies under Title I go to just six commodities, with 46% going to corn. Corn already benefits from the ethanol mandate, requiring fuel producers to blend ethanol into the national gasoline supply. Despite these six commodities receiving 94% of the subsidies, they only account for 27% of total farm output. The report suggests this disparity "merits further inspection of how the programs function across program crops."

Additionally, 54% of all cropland is rented, not owned, according to the USDA, with the highest concentration of rental land in crops receiving the most subsidies. Thus, this is more of a landowner subsidy bill than a farmer subsidy bill.

Government intervention in farming, much like health care, picks winners and losers. Under these farm bills, you're a winner if you grow large-acre crops like corn, cotton, and soybeans, or if Southern Republicans fight for low-acreage crops like peanuts and rice. If the government stayed out of it, the private sector would manage crop insurance, just as it does with car and homeowners' insurance. Instead, crop insurance has become a market-distorted mess, much like medical insurance.

Food, like COVID, has become the new frontier for government overreach. The government wants to take over farming and push you toward unhealthy, expensive food, just as it did with medical care. These federal farm programs further skew the playing field away from local farmers and toward corporate farming lobbyists. Biden plans to mandate electronic IDs for all cattle, and nothing in this bill blocks that terrible rule.

Under the guise of “conservation,” the government spends $14 billion paying farmers to leave land dormant. In 2018, Donald Trump vowed to cut these programs, which allow rich companies to buy land and keep it idle. Yet, the last farm bill, passed under a GOP trifecta, fully funded and expanded these programs. As a result, wealthy landowners profit, and land costs continue to skyrocket, just like any subsidized asset bubble. While the House GOP version omits some of the garbage climate-change rhetoric, it fully preserves the absurd conservation programs, which undermine the goal of food independence.

Here we stand 16 months after Kevin McCarthy’s debt-ceiling increase (which Mike Johnson supported), and our debt has grown $4.3 trillion — almost as fast as during the lockdown year itself. How exactly will we cure inflation, especially with food, if we continue to push these massive farm bills without any meaningful, systemic reforms or at least without devolving these programs to the states where they cannot print their way out of debt?

As we hope for a victory less than three weeks from now, we better start planning for how this time will be different.

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