WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, joined U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla., in introducing a bill to cut resources for so-called “diversity, equity, and inclusion” initiatives at the Department of Defense.

Titled the “Restoring Military Focus Act,” the bill would eliminate the position of Chief Diversity Officer at the Department of Defense and bar the use of federal dollars to establish offices similarly focused on a race and gender-oriented personnel agenda.

“The spread of gender and race ideology at the Department of Defense is toxic and diminishes our fighting force,” Wicker said. “Our military is not a place for social experimentation. With the rise of severe military threats from China and Russia, any step forward in improving our national defense must include rooting out these corrosive ideas and improving quality of life for our troops.”

“Our military should be focused on protecting our national security, not on promoting woke nonsense,” Rubio said. “The current direction we are heading in is dangerous. If we don’t reverse course, we risk jeopardizing our military strength, national interests, and security.”

Wicker and Rubio were joined on the legislation by Senators Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Jim Risch, R-Idaho, Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., James Lankford, R-Okla., Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho.

As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Wicker previously helped uncover that the Department of Defense has spent more than 6 million man-hours on diversity training since President Biden took office.

Last November, Wicker joined a letter expressing grave concern to chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley that a progressive agenda at the Pentagon is damaging military readiness. Wicker also recently wrote an op-ed in National Review, where he argued that restoring troop morale through the elimination of critical race theory in the services should be a top priority for Congress’ work on national defense issues.