CNN
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President Donald Trump is targeting federal employees who focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as career policy makers, as he follows through on his campaign promises to exert more control over the federal bureaucracy.
The moves, just days into his new administration, take on programs he has long attacked and officials he says blocked some of his key initiatives during his first term. But they have sown fear among federal workers and the unions that represent them, as employees worry about their jobs and their ability to carry out the missions that drew them to public service.
An executive order that sent shockwaves among workers Monday calls for the creation of a category for federal employees involved in the policy — known as Schedule F — that would make it easier to fire them. Critics say the measure, similar to one he signed in late 2020, is intended to ensure loyalty to the president.
This step was followed Tuesday by the directive to place employees in all federal offices of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility on paid administrative leave, effective immediately, as the Trump administration prepares to put an end to such initiatives. Additionally, the Office of Personnel Management wants a list of any job or contract descriptions that have been changed since the November election to obscure their ties to the DEIA. Failure to report these changes could result in “adverse consequences,” according to emails federal employees received Wednesday.
Trump’s other initial measures include requiring staffers to report to the office and request a list of employees still on probation, who do not have the same job protections.
The actions have angered federal workers unions, who say Trump’s main goal is to thin the ranks.
The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents 750,000 workers, criticized the Trump administration’s announcement to close DEIA offices. The union does not know how many workers could be affected by the planned workforce reduction measures.
“The federal government already hires and promotes exclusively on the basis of merit,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said in a statement Wednesday. “The results are clear: a diverse federal workforce that looks like the nation it serves, with the lowest gender wage gaps in the country. We should all be proud of it.
“Ultimately, these attacks on DEIA are nothing more than a smokescreen to fire public servants, undermine the apolitical civil service, and turn the federal government into an army of yes-men loyal only to the president, and not the Constitution,” he continued.
Trump’s efforts to reshape the federal workforce are expected to end up in court, with a lawsuit already filed against the executive order creating Schedule F. Many of his other measures face other obstacles, including contracts unions, and will take time to implement.
However, this provides little comfort to employees who are already feeling the consequences and to those who expect to soon. Several spoke to CNN but asked that their names not be used for fear of retaliation.
A lawyer for the Department of Homeland Security is concerned that the creation of Schedule F will make it more difficult for him to do his job properly. The lawyer, who has spent his entire career in public service, hopes to be transferred to this category since he consults on national and local policy issues.
If this happens and they are deprived of the protections that public officials enjoy, the lawyer is concerned about being able to give his honest opinion on the cases before him.
“After nearly 20 years of federal service, I have never felt this kind of anxiety about my job,” said the attorney, who lives in the Southwest with a spouse and two young children. “Being able to freely do my job with the feeling that I’m not going to be subject to retaliation, I feel like those days are over once Annex F is implemented. »
Meanwhile, a Maryland resident who works entirely remotely for the U.S. Department of Agriculture fears that having to return to the office would force him to give up “the best job I’ve ever had” because it would involve work lasting up to two hours. commuting in each direction.
But the impact of potential staff reductions on projects they work on to improve federal nutrition programs, such as the National School Lunch Program and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known under the name WIC, is also of great concern. serving millions of Americans.
“I look forward to saying the least about what will happen to this job and the people who depend on it if I and others lose their jobs,” said the USDA employee, who is married with four young children.
Some federal employees, however, are taking a more provocative stance.
A Department of Veterans Affairs employee who is considering being transferred to the Schedule F category is concerned about being placed in a position that would conflict with his or her personal values and beliefs. But if that happened, they said they would find another job or wait to be laid off.
“I will not succumb to the deterrent effect,” said the Washington, D.C., metro area resident, who previously worked in the private sector. “Being a political martyr would be a new experience for me.”