Rep. Byron Donalds’ town hall turns contentious over questions about DEI and Gaza
The Florida Republican faced a barrage of criticism over the Trump administration's cost-cutting measures, its policy toward Israel and efforts to terminate diversity initiatives.
Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., defended tech billionaire Elon Musk at a town hall Monday night at which he was grilled about the Department of Government Efficiency's cost-cutting measures and the Trump administration's efforts to eliminate diversity initiatives and its approach to the Israel-Hamas war.
Donalds, a member of the House Oversight Committee, was pressed at one point about what the Republican-led panel was doing to ensure oversight of Musk and DOGE as the administration moves to dramatically reshape the federal government and slash spending.
“If you’re going to talk about what Oversight is doing, we actually have to let the DOGE committee, the DOGE department, actually finish its work,” Donalds said at the event in Estero, Florida.
He also defended the Trump administration's efforts to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs, arguing it was a "false premise" that the absence of such initiatives in boardrooms and classrooms meant that "somehow minority kids cannot get ahead. It is a lie."
"There’s no level playing field in life; it doesn’t exist," said Donalds, one of the few Black Republicans in Congress.
Rating: 5