❓WHAT HAPPENED: Florida’s new Republican Lieutenant Governor, Jay Collins, is facing backlash over allegations that a nonprofit group he has worked with since 2018 mandated diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies and requirements for employees and contractors.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Lt. Gov. Jay Collins (R-FL), Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL), and Operation BBQ Relief.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The revelations emerged on Monday, August 25, 2025.
💬KEY QUOTE: “Implying he is woke is a joke. That dog won’t hunt.” — Gov. DeSantis
🎯IMPACT: The allegations that Collins worked for a pro-DEI nonprofit come as he is believed to be considering a run for Florida governor.
Florida’s new Republican Lieutenant Governor, Jay Collins, is facing backlash over allegations that a nonprofit group he has worked with since 2018 mandated diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies and requirements for employees and contractors. According to reports, Operation BBQ Relief—where Collins previously served as chief operating officer and chief program officer before being tapped by Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) to serve as Lt. Gov.—imposed an “expansive and documented DEI policy” on its staff.
Documents uncovered by Florida’s Voice reveal that the nonprofit required “[c]ontinuing mandatory annual training and education for OBR employees and key role volunteers with regard to inclusion and diversity” as late as 2020. Notably, Collins—who has been billed as an anti-DEI stalwart—began his involvement with Operation BBQ Relief in 2018. The documents go on to state: “The purpose of this policy is to memorialize in writing that Operation BBQ Relief (“OBR”) is committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of diversity and inclusion across all of its activities, programs, and businesses,” while adding the nonprofit is “committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of diversity and inclusion across all of its activities, programs, and businesses.”
“The ideologies of diversity, equal opportunity, and inclusion should be our guiding principles,” the Operation BBQ Relief documents declare, continuing: “They represent the concepts by which we best further and achieve our charitable mission.” Concerningly, the group adds that its mission is “built on the premise of gender and diversity equity.”
Despite the revelations regarding Operation BBQ Relief, Gov. DeSantis is standing by Collins, telling Florida media, “For years Florida has led the revolution against the woke mind virus and Jay Collins has been fighting alongside us every step of the way.”
“From eliminating DEI and nuking ESG [Environmental, Social, and Governance] to stopping CRT [Critical Race Theory] and banning CBDC [Central Bank Digital Currencies], Jay has stood strong for conservative values—and has never wavered,” Desantis continued, adding: “Implying he is woke is a joke. That dog won’t hunt.”
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