Justice Department to defend DEI policy that threatens to derail Boeing deal | Money [Video]

(CNN) — The Justice Department is preparing to defend its use of diversity policies in choosing an independent monitor to oversee a plea agreement with Boeing Co., setting up a potential clash with a conservative judge that could delay a deal the company is eager to implement.

The politically tinged fight is playing out in federal court in Texas, where US District Judge Reed O’Connor has homed in on standard language used by the Justice Department calling for diversity, equity and inclusion to be taken into consideration when choosing corporate monitors. O’Connor set a deadline of Friday for the administration to explain its use of so-called DEI policies in that program.

The diversity language used in the Boeing criminal plea deal has been around since at least 2018 – during the Trump administration, according to a person familiar with the policy. Still, it has become a key holdup as O’Connor mulls whether …