Children’s hospital masks DEI to evade Trump’s federal funding cuts: Report

The Seattle Children’s Hospital renamed its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives to circumvent President Donald Trump’s ban, according to a whistleblower account.

A current employee with the hospital, who asked to remain anonymous over fear of retaliation, told the Daily Signal that the medical center has failed to comply with Trump’s directive to eradicate woke programs.

‘Focus on providing the best care to patients instead of wasting resources on radical political priorities.’

On Inauguration Day, Trump issued an executive order banning DEI, calling the initiatives “illegal and immoral discrimination programs.” He demanded the termination of all related “mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities in the Federal Government, under whatever name they appear.”

In addition to eradicating DEI offices within the federal government, the executive action ordered the termination of all “equity-related” grants. Grantees that ignored the directive risk losing federal funding.

According to USASpending.gov, the Seattle Children’s Hospital has received $1.3 billion in federal funds since fiscal year 2008. It was awarded about $47 million annually through 2018 but saw a sharp rise starting in 2019, averaging $130 million yearly through 2024.

The Seattle Children’s Hospital also receives federal funding through Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements.

The Daily Signal noted that the hospital removed some references to DEI from its website. However, according to an employee, some of the controversial initiatives were not eliminated — they were just rebranded under a different name.

For example, the hospital’s “Inclusion Groups,” which target minority staffers, are reportedly no longer listed on the website but continue to exist.

The worker told the news outlet that the hospital’s leadership stated during a February 26 town hall that it would change its naming conventions to comply with Trump’s order.

“The DEI culture at Seattle Children’s Hospital is a culture of fear,” the employee said. “Employees are terrified of being accused of racism and religious discrimination, so there’s a toxic culture of fear, which really stifles free speech.”

“For the last 10 years, we’ve been like laser-focused on proving that systemic racism exists,” the worker added. “I am hoping that we can get back to the job of taking care of patients and families and children who are sick.”

The hospital’s website still lists an “Anti-Racism & EDI” section in the footer with pages describing its values and goals regarding “health equity and anti-racism.”

The Daily Signal reported that new hires must complete “diversity and so-called microaggression training.”

Dr. Kurt Miceli, medical director at Do No Harm, told the media outlet, “It’s unfortunate to see Seattle Children’s Hospital, an institution noted for holding racially segregated diversity trainings, decide to secretly push its DEI agenda.”

“As with all hospitals, Seattle Children’s should focus on providing the best care to patients instead of wasting resources on radical political priorities,” Miceli added.

The hospital has reportedly stopped offering gender mutilating surgeries to children to comply with the Trump administration. However, it is still allegedly prescribing irreversible cross-sex hormones.

The Seattle Children’s Hospital did not respond to the Daily Signal’s request for comment.

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