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Hawley’s spokeswoman, Kelly Ford, said GOP Senator Josh Hawley had suspended Kieran Ahuja’s nomination to lead the federal personnel agency “because of her history of promoting radical critical race theorists.”
“These associations deserve real scrutiny, especially in light of Ms Ahuja’s nomination for a role that would allow her to bring back race-based training courses across the entire federal government,” Ford said in a statement.
The suspension of Ahuja’s nomination is just the latest hot spot in a broader conservative effort to undo critical race theory, which recognizes that systemic racism is part of American society and challenges the beliefs that allow it to thrive.
As head of the Office of Personnel Management, Ahuja will be in a critical role managing the entire federal workforce under Biden’s leadership. Earlier this year, the president issued an executive order stating that government agencies no longer have to submit various training materials to the Office of Personnel Management for approval, as was required under the previous administration.
“Kiran Ahuja is a qualified, experienced, and dedicated civil servant who we look forward to leading the Office of Personnel Management in its work to protect workforce integrity, empower federal employees, and build an America-like federal workforce,” a House spokesperson told CNN.
Individual senators have the power to suspend so-called nominations that can be confirmed in the Senate, causing delays in getting votes in the chamber.
While Democrats had hoped that Ahuja would be confirmed quickly, she will now join a long list of Biden candidates awaiting a Senate vote, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will have to take additional procedural steps to advance her nomination.
Multiple sources told CNN that while the process will be a little delayed, they don’t think Ahuja’s candidacy is in danger.
During her appointment confirmation hearing in April, Hawley questioned Ahuja about her stance on critical race theory and diversity training. “The last administration suspended diversity training that contained any elements of what is sometimes called critical race theory. Do you agree with this decision by the previous administration or not?” asked Hawley.
While Ahuja said she did not know the specifics of the said exercises, she noted that the exercises she was familiar with “really encouraged understanding of people from all walks of life”.
Hawley also accused Ahuja of promoting the work of Dr. Abram Kennedy, a professor and anti-racism activist, including endorsing an article claiming that the election of former President Donald Trump in 2016 “was an example of racial progress”.
Ahuja admitted that she had worked with Kennedy and described him as a thought leader, but said she did not remember the specific article he was referring to and that she herself had not made any similar comments about the election.
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