Michael Duffin, self-described white supremacy expert, won award for reintegrating foreign terrorists

Michael Duffin is running for Congress.

Who?

You've never heard of him, and after reading this article you probably won't hear about him again for the rest of your life. But we're going to tell you about him anyway. The Washington Free Beacon does not endorse political candidates, but if we did, Michael Duffin would be first on the list. The former State Department official, who holds three graduate degrees and specializes in "countering white supremacy," appears to have entered the Democratic primary for Virginia's Eighth Congressional District.

Duffin's campaign website lists his priorities as follows: 1) "Fighting for feds," 2) "Fighting for the middle class," and 3) "Fighting for a safer and kinder America." He is also committed to making sure that "experts" such as himself are taken seriously. Duffin's pro-bureaucracy message might not resonate in the normal parts of America, but it's well-suited to his district in Northern Virginia, which boasts one of the highest median incomes in the country. It is teeming with government employees and wealthy liberals who have amassed fortunes by doing business with the government.

It remains to be seen whether the district's residents will be impressed by Duffin's accomplishments, which include meeting Elizabeth Warren, aka "Pocahontas," speaking at the "Eradicate Hate" global summit, and receiving a Meritorious Honor Award from the State Department for his efforts to reintegrate "foreign terrorist fighters." He is running against a five-term incumbent, Rep. Don Beyer (D., Va.), who has already announced his plans to seek reelection in 2026. Beyer is best known for comparing former president Joe Biden to Jesus Christ in the aftermath of Biden's disastrous debate performance on CNN.

Duffin made headlines in July for organizing a "rally for recently fired state department employees." It was one of the saddest gatherings we have ever seen, even by the low standards of Washington, D.C., and the federal bureaucrats who work there. Duffin was one of more than 1,300 State Department employees who lost their jobs as part of the Trump administration's efforts to reorganize and streamline federal agencies. He joined during the Obama administration in 2013, and was driven to continue serving due to his passion for providing "non-partisan expertise."

The rally took place during an outpouring of performative angst from State Department employees. After the layoffs were announced, fired bureaucrats posted obnoxious signs around the office urging their colleagues to "resist fascism" and "remember what was lost here." There was a lot of dramatic cheering, crying, and hugging. Duffin lashed out on social media, posting photos of his various awards, as well as a screenshot of his farewell email, which quoted lyrics from The Sound of Music, a reference he found "strangely appropriate" in light of Trump's creeping fascism. He thanked the terrorist-adjacent Al Jazeera network for "amplifying" his message of "resilience."

Alas, almost no one bothered to show up to Duffin's rally, which drew a handful of attendees and one member of the press—a Free Beacon reporter who was ruthlessly accosted in what can only be described as a shocking assault on the First Amendment.

Steven Ramsey, a former USAID contractor and self-described "passionate sustainability and climate education professional," read a poem to kick things off, then proceeded to denounce the Free Beacon for promoting "disinformation." Duffin refused to answer our question about what the Founding Fathers would think about his courageous defense of federal bureaucrats.

Duffin continued to attack the pillars of our democracy in a LinkedIn post responding to the Free Beacon's dispatch from the rally, which correctly assessed that Duffin was "probably going to run for Congress" in order to demonstrate his "tireless courage and selfless commitment to the fundamental American values of growing the federal bureaucracy and rehabilitating terrorists." He blamed the sparse attendance on the fact that most of the people he invited "were too distraught and/or afraid to attend." He blasted our "partisan website" for publishing "malicious smears" and accurately describing him as an "obnoxious liberal."

Democrats are eager to promote the niche concerns of transgender athletes, but they lack the courage to stand up for America's forgotten minority. Our cherished bureaucrats deserve a fearless champion. They deserve Michael Duffin.