“Time to go back to a merit-based system”: Congress praises Walmart’s massive DEI rollback

Walmart's DEI cutbacks, and the immediate praise they got from Congress, provide a way forward for companies to navigate the Trump era.

Walmart is receiving rave reviews from members of Congress for rolling back its sprawling diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies.

The retail giant announced late last month that it is pulling out of a gay rights index, not renewing a commitment for a racial equity center, and abandoning preferential treatment to certain groups when it determines its suppliers. It is “time to go back to a merit-based system,” Rep. Claudia Tenney (R., N.Y.) told the Washington Reporter.

Incoming members of Congress are eager to highlight the importance of merit in hiring. “The only way organizations will survive, be it companies or governments, in this increasingly competitive world is to hire and fire based on merit,” Mike Haridopolos said. “Walmart has clearly recognized this. Anything short of this will result in subpar organizations who are not putting their best and brightest positions of leadership.”

Walmart’s DEI rollback marks a shift by many in corporate America against the rise in wokeness, which spiked in 2020. Lowe’s, Harley Davidson, and Tractor Supply Co. are other mega corporations that scaled back their woke capitalism approaches in 2024.