The US president is aggressively targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
United States President Donald Trump’s administration has ordered all federal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) staff to be placed on paid leave and eventually furloughed, as Republican leaders tackle systemic racism. Aim to take action.
The Office of Personnel Management memo, first reported by CBS News, directed agencies to place DEI office staff on paid leave by 5 p.m. (22:00 GMT) Wednesday and by the same deadline. Remove all public DEI focused web pages.
Agencies must cancel any DEI-related training and terminate any related contracts, and federal workers are being asked to report to the office if they suspect a DEI-related program has been renamed. His goal is to change within 10 days — or “face negative consequences.”
As of Thursday, federal agencies have been directed to compile a list of federal DEI offices and workers by Election Day in November. They are also expected to come up with a plan by next Friday to implement “reduction action” against those federal workers.
The move follows an executive order that Trump signed on his first day in office this week ordering the wholesale end of the federal government’s DEI programs, which benefit minority farmers and homeowners. can touch on everything from anti-bias training to funding for
Trump has called the programs “discriminatory” and insisted on restoring what he describes as strictly “merit-based” hiring.
But civil rights advocates have argued that DEI programs are necessary to address long-standing inequalities and structural racism.
Basil Simkel Jr., a political strategist and policy consultant, said he was troubled by the Trump administration’s claim that diversity programs are “downplaying the importance of individual talent, ability, hard work and commitment” because he suggested that women And people of color lack merit. or ability
“This is a clear attempt to impede, if not eliminate, the political and economic power of people of color and women of color,” Simkel said.
“What it does is open the door to more misconduct,” he said.
Trump’s anti-DEI push picks up where his first administration left off.
One of Trump’s last actions during his first term in 2017-2021 was an executive order banning federal agency contractors and recipients of federal funds from conducting anti-bias training that addresses systemic racism such as Concepts were solved.
His successor, Democrat and former US President Joe Biden, promptly rescinded the order on his first day in office and issued a pair of executive orders — now revoked — that included DEI in the federal government. A promotion plan is outlined.
While many of the changes may take months or even years to implement, Trump’s new anti-DEI agenda is more aggressive than his predecessor and comes amid far more receptive territory in the corporate world.
Prominent companies from Walmart to Facebook have already scaled back or eliminated some of their diversity practices in response to Trump’s election and conservative-backed lawsuits against him.
