DOJ Dismisses Biden-Era Decrees Imposing DEI on Fire, Police Departments

‘American communities deserve firefighters and police officers to be chosen for their skill and dedication to public safety—not to meet DEI quotas,’ Bondi said.

Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a press briefing at the Department of Justice in Washington on Feb. 12, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has dismissed Biden-era consent decrees in North Carolina, Georgia, Maryland, and Indiana that sought to impose diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hiring requirements on their fire and police departments.

DOJ chief of staff Chad Mizelle announced the move in a series of social media posts, citing the Trump administration’s commitment to prioritizing merit-based hiring over race-based preferences.

Consent decrees are legally binding agreements that settle legal disputes without admitting liability, often used to enforce policy changes in government agencies and institutions. Mizelle said that their introduction “sought to penalize fire and police departments for using race-neutral hiring tools.”

Mizelle explained that the Biden administration justified the need for the consent decrees as it faced lawsuits against certain officer hiring assessments. The assessments in question included written tests requiring only a 70 percent passing score, covering basic skills such as reading comprehension and report writing.

“There was NO evidence that the departments engaged in intentional discrimination,” Mizelle said on X.

“Despite a total lack of evidence of intentional discrimination, these cases accused departments of discrimination solely based on statistical disparities rather than actual discriminatory intent,” Mizelle stated. “The Biden-era DOJ sought to force these departments to adopt DEI-based hiring practices, provide financial payouts to unsuccessful minority applicants, and abandon merit-based recruitment.”

One of the dismissed consent decrees involved the Maryland State Police, which would have been required to grant minority applicants “retroactive seniority,” effectively treating newly hired officers as if they had years of experience that they did not actually possess. In that case, the consent decree settled a lawsuit brought by the Biden-era DOJ alleging that the state’s written and physical fitness tests had the effect of disqualifying black and female candidates at significantly disproportionate rates.

Mizelle said that all the dismissed cases were inconsistent with President Donald Trump’s and Attorney General Pam Bondi’s efforts to end illegal DEI preferences and to restore merit-based hiring practices.

Bondi said in a separate announcement on Feb. 26 that she had directed the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division to dismiss lawsuits across the country that targeted police and fire departments for using standard aptitude tests for screening candidates. She said that prioritizing DEI over merit jeopardizes public safety.

“American communities deserve firefighters and police officers to be chosen for their skill and dedication to public safety—not to meet DEI quotas,” Bondi said in a statement.

She said that the previous administration had pressured cities to implement DEI-based hiring and allocate millions in taxpayer funds for payouts to lower-scoring applicants, regardless of qualifications.

After assuming office, Trump issued a series of executive orders targeting DEI, including directives for federal agencies to dismantle DEI offices, programs, and initiatives.

“The Biden Administration forced illegal and immoral discrimination programs, going by the name ‘Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion’ (DEI), into virtually all aspects of the Federal Government, in areas ranging from airline safety to the military,” Trump wrote in one of the orders.

After taking the helm at the DOJ, Bondi issued several memos instructing the agency to investigate and penalize DEI-related policies that the administration now deems illegal.

These memos coincided with a directive from the Office of Personnel Management to all department heads on ending DEI offices and programs, which provides detailed guidance on what the Trump administration considers permissible or impermissible regarding DEI.

While critics view DEI initiatives as a form of identity-based discrimination that undermines merit-based decisions in admissions, hiring, and career advancement, supporters of DEI say such policies promote inclusivity, reduce discrimination, and ensure greater representation for historically marginalized groups.

Beyond the federal government’s actions to combat DEI, major corporations—including Caterpillar, McDonald’s, and Walmart—have begun scaling back such programs.