Jesus Osete to Newsmax: DEI Will Die on Its Own or Trump Admin Will Kill It
Justice Department Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jesus Osete defended the DOJ's effort to intervene in a lawsuit challenging Evanston, Illinois' reparations program during a Thursday appearance on Newsmax's "National Report," arguing the city's policy violates the Constitution by distributing benefits based on race.
"The city of Evanston doesn't seem to have gotten the memo," Osete said, adding that "our Constitution is colorblind, as the Supreme Court just reiterated just last week."
The DOJ recently moved to support a federal lawsuit challenging Evanston's reparations program, which provides eligible Black residents and descendants of those affected by past housing discrimination up to $25,000 in cash or housing assistance.
"You can't discriminate on the basis of race in handing out particular benefits, especially when it comes to housing," Osete said. "It's absolutely illegal."
Osete credited Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon for pursuing the case, saying, "We didn't need new civil rights laws. We needed a new civil rights chief, and that's exactly what Harmeet Dhillon has done."
He argued the program could encourage similar initiatives elsewhere if left unchallenged.
"I think it is a strong message that any of these cities that are considering doing a program like this, they should be very careful," Osete said.
"We feel quite confident in the invalidity and the illegality of this program."
While acknowledging America's imperfect history, Osete maintained that constitutional protections prohibit race-based government benefits.
"You can acknowledge that our country has not always had the most perfect history," he said. "And second, our Constitution prohibits sorting people by race when it comes to housing benefits."
Osete also criticized what he called a lack of objective standards behind reparations programs.
"There are no standards," he said. "That's exactly why they stand on an island by themselves right now, because there are no manageable standards to distribute this kind of program."
Comparing the reparations effort to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, Osete said, "What the city of Evanston is doing here is no different than what any other institution that has implemented DEI over the last several decades," adding that under Dhillon's leadership, "DEI will either die on its own or we will kill it."
The DOJ is seeking an injunction to halt future payments under the program. Although approximately $5 million has already been distributed, Osete said the goal is to prevent further spending.
"Let's stop them from spending millions of dollars more," he said, noting that Evanston could distribute "potentially $11 million more" through the program. "It's not the government of Evanston's money. It's the people's money."
GET TODAY NEWSMAX+:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America with more than 30 million people watching!
Reuters Institute reports NEWSMAX is one of the top news brands in the U.S.
You need to watch NEWSMAX today.
Get it with great shows from Rob Schmitt, Greta Van Susteren, Greg Kelly, Carl Higbie, Rob Finnerty – and many more!
Sign up for NEWSMAX+ and get NEWSMAX, our streaming channel NEWSMAX2 and our military channel World at War.
Find hundreds of shows, movies and specials.
Even get Jon Voight's special series and President Trump's comedy programs and much more!
Watch NEWSMAX+ on your smartphone or home TV app.