Donald Trump’s administration is following through on his promise to dismantle DEI programs, ordering all federal diversity, equity and inclusion employees to be placed on leave no later than 5 p.m. Wednesday (January 22).
A memorandum sent Tuesday (January 21) by the Office of Personnel Management also orders all public DEI-focused websites be taken down by the same deadline. The memo follows Trump’s executive order aimed at eliminating “radical” DEI programs across federal agencies.
Employees are to be placed on paid administrative leave but will eventually be laid off. The memo claims these programs “divided Americans by race,” wasted taxpayer dollars and caused “shameful discrimination.”
Additionally, the Trump administration requested federal workers report all efforts to disguise DEI programs using coded language since November 5, 2024 or face “adverse consequences.”
The sweeping directive marks a significant shift in federal workforce policies under Trump’s administration.
Trump’s directives reversed the Biden administration’s executive orders to promote diversity in the federal workforce and programs. Biden’s goal was to advance equity “for all, including people of color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality.”
Federal agencies were instructed to review programs to address structural barriers to access. However, Trump labeled these diversity initiatives as “illegal and immoral discrimination.”
During his inauguration speech, Trump vowed to “end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life. We will forge a society that is colorblind and merit based.”