Philip Bump has a story at the Washington Post today arguing that President Trump’s elimination of DEI in the federal government is a perpetuation of white privilege. But the data he offers to make his case doesn’t really prove what he’s trying to prove, at least not about race.
When the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published its assessment of the composition of the federal workforce a few years ago, it revealed an interesting data point: As of 2021, people with disabilities were about three times better represented in government jobs than in civilian jobs.
This isn’t an accident, obviously. The government is deliberate about ensuring that physical constraints aren’t barriers for employees — deliberate as a matter of law, yes, but also as a matter of intent. The government has systems and processes that encourage people with disabilities to…
