U.S. President Donald Trump's administration decided Tuesday to end affirmative action in federal contracts and ordered all federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) staff to be placed on paid leave and ultimately fired.
The moves are in accordance with the executive order Trump signed the deal on day one ordering a radical dismantling of government diversity and inclusion programs, which could cover everything from anti-bias training to funding for minority farmers and homeowners. Trump called the programs “discriminatory” and pushed for the restoration of strictly “merit-based” hiring.
The affirmative action executive order repeals an order issued by U.S. President Lyndon Johnson and limits DEI programs by federal contractors and grant recipients.
It takes one of the key tools the Biden administration has used to promote DEI programs in the private sector — pushing for their use by federal contractors — to eliminate them now.
Office of Personnel Management in Tuesday's note directed agencies to place DEI office employees on paid leave by 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday and to close all public DEI websites by the same date. Several federal departments took down these websites even before the memorandum.
Agencies must also cancel all DEI-related training and terminate any related contracts, and federal employees are asked to report to the Trump Office of Personnel Management if they suspect that any DEI-related program has been renamed within 10 days to obscure its purpose. otherwise, they risk “adverse outcomes.”
By Thursday, federal agencies were directed to compile a list of federal DEI offices and employees for Election Day. They are expected to develop a plan by next Friday to conduct a “workforce reduction action” against these federal workers.
The memo was first reported by CBS News.
This move comes later Monday's executive order accused former US President Joe Biden of imposing “discriminatory” agendas on “virtually every aspect of the federal government” through “diversity, equity and inclusion” programs, known as DEI.
The move is the first salvo in an aggressive campaign to thwart DEI efforts across the country, including using the U.S. Department of Justice and other agencies to investigate private companies with training and hiring practices that conservative critics say discriminate against non-minority groups like white men.
Aggressive campaign
The executive order picks up where the first Trump administration left off: One of Trump's final acts during his first term was an executive order prohibiting federal agency contractors and recipients of federal funds from conducting anti-bias training that addressed concepts such as systemic racism.
Biden immediately rescinded the executive order on his first day in office and issued two executive orders – now repealed – outlining a plan to promote DEI across the federal government.
While many changes may take months or even years to implement, Trump's new anti-DEI agenda is more aggressive than his first and comes in more accessible terrain in the corporate world.
Prominent companies from Walmart to Facebook have already reduced or stopped some diversity practices in response to Trump's election and conservative-backed lawsuits against them.