# Opinion: Douglas MacKinnon Says DEI Is in 'Sleeper Mode' and Will Return With a Vengeance if Democrats Win Control on Nov. 3

The columnist argues that planes, bridges and skyscrapers were built on merit, and points to the debanking report and United's DEI pilot plan as warnings.

- Section: [Opinion](https://rightnewsrightnow.com/opinion/)
- Published: 2026-10-31
- By: RightNewsRightNow Staff
- Canonical page: https://rightnewsrightnow.com/articles/opinion-douglas-mackinnon-dei-sleeper-mode-democrats-win-merit-airlines-banks-debanking-fox-news/

In a Fox News column, Douglas MacKinnon argues that merit, not identity politics, built the things Americans rely on, and that a Democratic win on Nov. 3 would revive diversity programs.

The setup. MacKinnon describes a recent cross-country trip past jetliners, trains, driverless taxis, megacruise ships, famous bridges and 60-story towers. All of it, he writes, "were devised and built via meritocracy," with DEI and "woke dictates" playing no part, and he says that matters most where lives depend on the work.

The claim. He says people "myself included" believe DEI "never went away," only went into "sleeper mode" while Mr. Trump's movement was at its peak. If Democrats take the House, "and quite possibly the Senate," he expects the "prophets" of identity politics to tell their followers to "fire up the DEI machines" across business, schools, government and media.

The examples. He cites a recent report from Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould saying his agency found "irrefutable evidence" that the biggest banks "denied, debanked and discriminated against" customers and lawful businesses, many of them conservative or faith-based. Senate Banking Chairman Tim Scott told Fox News Digital that debanking over faith or politics is "simply un-American" and to "expect to hear more" from his committee when Congress returns. MacKinnon also cites a Wall Street Journal editorial on United CEO Scott Kirby, who made more than $32 million last year, and a 2021 United plan to train 5,000 pilots, "half of them to be women and people of color." He notes JPMorgan, a partner in that effort, has also been tied to the debanking controversy.

The ask. His fix is to hire "only the most-qualified pilots based entirely upon merit," adding that if half "happen to be women and minorities, all the better." He closes that DEI is "about to come back with a vengeance" if control changes hands, putting lives "at more risk in service to woke over merit."

Note for readers: this is one writer's view. The column does not offer evidence of safety failures caused by diversity programs, and the quotes about the debanking report and the United plan are as MacKinnon gives them. Our earlier story on the medical-school DEI rebranding report is on the site.

## Source

Original reporting: [Fox News (opinion by Douglas MacKinnon)](https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/douglas-mackinnon-land-your-land-my-land-not-dei-land)