The Department of Energy is investigating taxpayer-funded "social workshops" for white men at the National Nuclear Security Administration's Sandia National Laboratories.
In a letter to Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. — who was furious about trainings titled "Full Diversity Partners Lab," "White Men & Allies Learning Lab" and "White Men's Caucus" — Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette said if Hawley's allegations were accurate, "this would indeed be troubling."
Hawley alleged, during training sessions, Sandia employees were invited to associate terms like "Aryan Nation" and "mass killings" with "white men," generate a list of "assumptions about people of color" including stereotypes like "have broken families," and list examples of "male privilege" including "men can kill bugs more easily than 'most' women."
"I fail to see how this fixation on the crudest imaginable gender and race stereotypes is productive or worthy of the expenditure of taxpayer dollars," Hawley told Brouillette.
"The focus on providing trainings specifically for 'white men' is similarly concerning: while the race of the various participants in these workshops is not altogether clear, the use of overtly race-segregated diversity trainings would likely violate federal civil rights law."
Brouillette appeared to agree.
"I have launched an investigation to determine the facts surrounding this matter," Brouillette resonded. "In addition, I have requested that the Department's Inspector General initiate an independent investigation."
Hawley called for DOE to identify all sums paid to the organization hosting the training sessions or any similar groups, provide copies of all training materials, and the dates of all training sessions DOE has conducted.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Energy said in a statement Thursday that officials "did not have knowledge of or authorize the use of taxpayer dollars for the reported social workshops at the Sandia National Laboratories, or elsewhere."
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