The Trump administration on Tuesday ordered that officials overseeing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at federal agencies be placed on leave and take steps to close their offices by Wednesday evening.
In a memo from the Office of Personnel Management, department and agency heads were ordered to clear such personnel by placing all DEI staff on paid administrative leave, effective immediately Wednesday. will be in effect until 5 p.m., and plan for staff shortages until the end. of the day on January 31.
gave Memo also directed Agencies to remove any language or advertising about their DEI initiatives and to withdraw any pending documents or instructions that undermine the new orders. It also ordered agency heads to notify DEI officials that their offices would be closed and that employees would be questioned about any attempts to use the code or foul language. Be “in disguise” through
The directive was a quick attempt to carry out elements of President Trump’s Day 1 executive order that ended federal diversity efforts. In a new executive order on Tuesday, Mr. Trump encouraged the private sector to follow the federal government’s lead and “end illegal DEI discrimination and preferences and comply with all federal civil rights laws.” His order also directed agencies to investigate corporations and foundations’ compliance with these laws.
Although the federal government has no jurisdiction over many private sector practices, it has the discretion to impose its own rules on heavily dependent private contractors and subcontractors who will be subject to the new rules. In anticipation of Mr. Trump taking office, many companies, From Meta and McDonald’s, has withdrawn its DEI measures.
The order on Tuesday said the DEI’s policies “harm our national unity, because they undermine hard work, excellence, and individual achievement in favor of an illegal, corrosive, and damaging identity-based system.” Denies, denigrates, and undermines traditional American values.”
“After this tragic case,” the order said, “the American people have seen firsthand the devastating consequences of illegal, harmful discrimination that prioritizes how people are born.” instead of what they were capable of.
Within hours of taking the oath of office, Mr. Trump rescinded several executive orders signed by his predecessor, Joseph R. Biden Jr. The first was one that Mr. Biden signed on his first day in office, titled “Advancing Racial Equity and Supporting Disadvantaged Communities,” which mandated that federal agencies implement virtually all policies during his administration. Add equity to the equation.
Mr. Biden prided himself on putting racial equity at the center of his policymaking in areas such as the environment, infrastructure, the economy and health care.
Mr. Trump’s orders reverse Mr. Biden’s position that an administration committed to ending decades of discrimination and neglect among disadvantaged groups is a threat to the nation’s future rather than a threat to it. There is a way to improve.
Instead, the administration’s actions are an attempt to make good on Mr. Trump’s promise to end “radical” policy and “wasteful” spending on measures to combat systemic inequality, which has angered conservatives. There has been outrage from those who say diversity initiatives reverse discrimination and racial “preferences.” Mr. Trump’s order on Tuesday required the elimination of programs with goals of “diversity,” “equity” and “fair decision-making,” among other conditions.
Mr Trump expanded on those calls during his inaugural address to the nation after taking office, vowing to stop efforts to “socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life”.
“We will create a society that is fair and merit-based,” Mr. Trump declared during the speech.
White House press secretary Carolyn Levitt said in a statement that the new guidelines “should come as no surprise.”
“President Trump campaigned on our federal government to end the scourge of DEI and return America to a merit-based society where people are valued not for the color of their skin, but for their skills,” the statement said. is based on.” “This is another win for Americans of all races, religions and creeds. Promises made, promises kept.”
Zolan Kano-Young Cooperation reporting.
