The Justice Department has launched an investigation into the City of Chicago to determine whether Mayor Brandon Johnson or others have engaged in “a pattern or practice of racial discrimination” in their hiring practices.

This action follows Johnson’s remarks at a church service, where he highlighted the number of Black individuals hired by the city.

“The deputy mayor is a Black woman. Department of Planning Development is a black woman. Infrastructure deputy mayor is a Black woman. Chief operations officer is a Black man,” Johnson said.

Addressing the investigation, Johnson stated, “My administration reflects the country, it reflects the city. His administration reflects the country club,” referring to President Donald Trump.

White House Senior Policy Strategist May Mailman pointed out, “It appears as though the mayor is hiring on the basis not who’s going to improve the schools, who’s going to be the most efficient for the taxpayer, but based on race.”

On Monday, the Justice Department announced the creation of a new unit, the “Civil Rights Fraud Initiative,” aimed at addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies at federally funded universities.

This comes as the DOJ investigates Harvard University’s admission policies over concerns of race-based discrimination.

John P. Fishwick Jr., a former U.S. Attorney, remarked, “It really turns up the heat on these major elite universities, you know, Harvard in particular. DOJ over the last several weeks, each week has almost brought a new initiative against Harvard.”

Harvard has pushed back against the administration’s actions, arguing that the White House is attempting to infringe on its academic freedom.

“We’ve got two legal titans fighting it out,” Fishwick noted. “They’re very serious. They continue to turn up the heat and this is going to continue to play out for months and years to come.”

The DOJ has also launched similar investigations into Stanford University and the University of California earlier this year. Mailman believes that addressing DEI will be a legacy issue for Trump.

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