Trump “immediately” places all US government DEI staff on paid leave

President Donald Trump has ordered that all U.S. government personnel working on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs be immediately placed on paid administrative leave.

The White House confirmed that all federal DEI employees are to be furloughed at 5:00 p.m. EST (22:00 GMT) on Wednesday, before the offices and programs in question close.

In an executive order issued Tuesday, Trump also called for an end to “dangerous, humiliating and immoral” programs.

Since taking office on Monday, the president has acted quickly on a number of key commitments through a series of unilateral actions. He repeatedly attacked the DEI’s practices during the election campaign, arguing that they were discriminatory.

DEI programs aim to promote workplace participation of people from diverse backgrounds.

Supporters say they address historic underrepresentation and discrimination against certain groups, including racial minorities, but critics say such programs can themselves be discriminatory.

In his inaugural address, Trump pledged to “forge a color-blind, merit-based society.”

A memo, first seen by CBS, the BBC’s US partner, was sent from the US Office of Personnel Management to heads of government agencies on Tuesday, ordering them to furlough DEI employees .

He also made a number of demands, including the removal of public DEI office websites.

By Thursday, federal agencies must compile a list of DEI offices and employees. By January 31, agencies must submit “a written plan” to proceed with layoffs in DEI offices.

Trump’s executive order, meanwhile, took aim at what he called “unlawful” DEI and DEIA (diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility) policies, portraying them as being contrary to US law.

He said these policies have the ability to “violate” important core civil rights laws that protect Americans from discrimination.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the decision “is another victory for Americans of all races, religions and beliefs” and fulfills a campaign promise made by Trump.

The executive order requires that federal hiring, promotions, and performance evaluations “reward individual initiative” rather than “DEI-related factors.”

It revokes a 1965 executive order signed by former President Lyndon B Johnson that prohibits federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of “race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin” when they are hired.

The order also requires the attorney general to submit, within 120 days, recommendations “to encourage the private sector” to end similar diversity efforts.

The American Federation of Government Employees, a union representing 800,000 federal workers, said diversity programs have reduced pay disparities between men and women in the federal workforce.

“Canceling these programs is just another way President Trump is undermining the merit-based civil service and turning federal hiring and firing decisions into loyalty tests,” said the national president of the ‘AFGE, Everett Kelley, in a press release.

Tuesday’s executive order follows another that pledged to end programs deemed “radical and unnecessary” by Trump.

This, signed Monday, declares that all DEI offices, positions and programs will terminate within 60 days, “to the maximum extent permitted by law.”

It is unclear how many government employees would be affected by these orders.

Several major U.S. companies have ended or scaled back their DEI programs in recent weeks, including McDonald’s, Walmart and Facebook parent company Meta.

Others, like Apple and retailers Target and Costco, have publicly defended their DEI programs.