A pair of GOP lawmakers who launched a whistleblower campaign last month for active military members to report critical race theory in “diversity training” programs say they have received hundreds of tips.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who set up the tip line with Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) in late May, made the revelation in a tweet Tuesday morning, adding, “The problem is real — and worse than we thought.”
“We’ve received hundreds of whistleblower complaints about critical race theory being pushed on our soldiers,” the Arkansas senator wrote. “The problem is real — and worse than we thought.”
Reps for Cotton did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment on the exact number of tips, as well as their nature.
Reps for Crenshaw told The Post on Tuesday that their office had received “well over 300 serious, credible complaints” through the site.
The two lawmakers, both military veterans, have been vocal in their opposition to the Defense Department’s efforts to address “extremism” within its ranks, which became a priority in the wake of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot but appears to be injecting “woke” ideology into the military.
A recently relieved Space Force commander claimed last month that the Pentagon sent service members a video claiming that America and white people were “evil.”
Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier told Fox News’ “Hannity” that the videos “were sent out to every base [and] servicemember” and “we were asked to watch [them] in preparation for our extremism down days and discussions on race.”
Those videos, Lohmeier added, “taught that the country was evil, that it was founded in 1619 and not 1776, and that whites are inherently evil.”
Lohmeier did not specify when the videos were sent out beyond saying it had happened “in the past ten months, when I was in command of a unit.”
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered a 60-day “stand down” of the entire US military back in February to allow for commanders to address the “threat.”
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby described the military-wide pause at the time as similar to stand downs that units have to conduct to address safety concerns.
In April, Austin issued a memo with several immediate actions for the Pentagon to take to combat “extremism” following the stand down, but cautioned that the department was continuing “to address this issue proactively.”
In addition, Austin ordered an update to the DoD’s definition of prohibited extremist activities among uniformed personnel, an update to the service member transition checklist, a review and standardization of questionnaires for recruits and a study on extremism in the ranks.
Since then, a senior adviser to Austin tasked with addressing “extremism” in the armed forces has been appointed, who, according to his social media posts, has claimed all Donald Trump voters support racism and has called for curbing free speech online.
Speaking to Austin at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday, Cotton confronted the Pentagon chief about the anti-“extremism” program and its ramifications on the forces.
“We’re hearing reports of plummeting morale, growing mistrust between the races and sexes where none existed just six months ago, and unexpected retirements and separations based on these trainings alone,” Cotton, a former Army captain, told Austin.