House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., declared diversity the greatest national strength of the U.S. on Thursday and lamented that the intelligence community (IC) often brought White males to testify before his committee.

“I remain concerned about inadequate progress in recruiting and retaining individuals of diverse backgrounds in the core IC collection and analysis missions,” he said during a hearing on diversity.

“For instance, I can’t help but notice that the majority of IC briefers, though uniformly excellent, who appear before the committee are often White and male.”

{snip} Ranking member Devin Nunes, R-Calif., worried in his opening statement that diversity efforts might distract from critical functions of the IC.

Schiff, meanwhile, argued that diversity was important for addressing evolving national security challenges.

“Put simply, our diversity is our greatest national strength. {snip}” he said.

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