Maryland Gov. Wes Moore dismisses claims DEI is to blame for Baltimore bridge collapse as 'foolishness'

Maryland's Democratic leaders are lashing out at Republicans who blame diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies for the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

Gov. Wes Moore, 45, said he has 'no time' to respond to the 'foolishness' of those who claim DEI somehow caused the cargo ship to crash into a vital structure support and collapse a large portion of the 1.6-mile bridge on March 26.

Meanwhile, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Sunday there is still no estimate on the timeline to rebuild the vital bridge after its tragic collapse.

Republicans say the implementation of DEI has caused companies to focus more on diversified hiring rather than making sure the best candidates are brought on. They also claim it leads to companies wasting valuable resources on implementing these policies instead of spending the funds on costs vital to their operations.

In the case of the Baltimore bridge collapse, Republicans suggest that DEI policies caused lazy upkeep of the bridge and led to conditions that made collapse more easy once it was struck by the vessels carrying shipping containers out of the port. 

Additionally, far-right conspiracies have swirled online claiming that the bridge collapsing was either intentional or an act of terrorism, despite no suggestions or legitimate reports to back this.

Moore, Maryland's Democratic governor, said he's now focused on rebuilding as he dismissed DEI claims and other conspiracies.

'My response is I have no time for foolishness. I'm locked in,' Moore told CNN's State of the Union host Dana Bash on Sunday.

He added: 'I'm making sure that we can give closure and comfort to these families. I'm making sure that we're going to keep our first responders safe… I'm making sure that we're going to open up this channel.'

While two people were rescued from the destruction in the water on Tuesday, six remained missing. Two bodies were recovered as of Wednesday and the other four are presumed dead, as well.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, 39, also responded to the claims that DEI policies in Maryland led to the collapse – including some online calling him the 'DEI Mayor.' 

'Listen, I am a young black man, a young black mayor in this country. We know that there are a lot of racist folks who don't think I should be in this job. I know that. I've been Black my whole life. I know how racism goes in this country,' Scott told CBS News host Ed O'Keefe on Face the Nation on Sunday.

'But my focus is always going to be on those people,' the mayor continued. 'I did not want to be out there that night answering questions about DEI. I'm worried about the loss of life. We know how ridiculous that is.'

In a separate interview, Secretary Buttigieg also said it's going to be a long road to getting the port back open and the bridge rebuilt.

'Is there any sense of how long it would take to rebuild that bridge?' O'Keefe asked.

'We haven't received estimates on that yet either,' he said. 'I can tell you the original bridge took about five years to build. But that doesn't necessarily inform us about the timeline on the reconstruction.'