Staff Reports
Conservative readers woke up to a bombastic headline — and Benny Johnson’s show certainly turned heads — claiming the Justice Department had announced big payouts specifically to “white men” as victims of racial discrimination. Americans who love this country and its traditions have every right to be furious if the federal government is playing identity politics with taxpayers’ money, and the claim demanded a closer look before we hand over our outrage to a soundbite.
After digging into the reporting, there is no evidence of a nationwide DOJ program that exists to hand out blanket payments to white men; what the administration has done instead is use the Civil Rights Division to extract massive settlements from elite institutions and to insist on claims processes in some cases. These settlements — like the recent Columbia deal that included a multi-million dollar claims fund for employees — are real, but they are the result of negotiated enforcement actions with universities, not a broad federal check-writing spree aimed at one demographic.
That reality doesn’t soften the sting for patriotic Americans who see selective enforcement and politicized justice at work. Local governments and institutions have, in fact, paid large sums to settle discrimination suits brought by white men in particular cases — for example, Kansas City recently faced six-figure and seven-figure payouts after white battalion chiefs alleged they were passed over for promotion because of race and gender considerations. This proves the double standard exists in pockets across the country: when the left’s identity orthodoxy costs taxpayers, it’s shrugged off; when conservatives point it out, we’re told to be quiet.
Meanwhile, the Trump Justice Department has leaned into aggressive oversight of university practices, pressuring schools to abandon unlawful race-based programs and, in some deals, restoring federal funding only after large financial penalties or directed spending commitments. Brown and Columbia’s settlements show the federal government can and will use carrots and sticks to reshape campus policies, which is exactly why ordinary Americans should care — federal influence over education should be about merit and safety, not social engineering or selective payouts.
Let’s be frank: conservative Americans should welcome equal enforcement of the law, but we should not accept the politicization of enforcement. If the DOJ is going to crack down on antisemitism, mismanagement, or unlawful discrimination, fine — do it transparently and apply the law evenly, not as a cudgel to punish ideological opponents or to bankroll new diversity industry slush funds. The people demanding accountability on Main Street deserve the same fairness the federal government claims to pursue on Ivy League lawns.
At the end of the day, this story is a reminder that conservative vigilance matters: don’t let sensational headlines substitute for facts, but do demand integrity from our institutions. Call out selective enforcement, insist on colorblind justice, and hold both the press and the DOJ to account when they try to dress up policy fights as moral crusades. America’s working families built this country; they deserve a justice system that protects every citizen equally and never becomes another weapon in the culture wars.
