U.S. orders federal DEI efforts shut down by Wednesday evening

The Trump administration ordered Tuesday 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 purge these officials by placing all DEI staff on paid administrative leave, effective immediately, by 5 p.m. Wednesday, and to plan staff reductions by the end. of the day of January 31.

The memo also directed agencies to remove any language or advertising regarding their DEI initiatives and remove any pending documents or guidance that would undermine the new orders. He also ordered agency heads to notify DEI officials that their offices would be closed and employees would be questioned about whether there were any remaining efforts “disguised” by coded or imprecise language.

The directive was a quick attempt to implement elements of President Trump’s first-day executive order dismantling federal diversity efforts. In a new executive order issued Tuesday, Trump encouraged the private sector to follow the federal government’s lead and “end DEI discrimination and unlawful preferences and comply with all federal civil rights laws.” “. His order also directed agencies to investigate compliance with these laws by corporations and foundations.

Although the federal government has no power over many private sector practices, it does have discretion to apply its rules to highly solicited private contractors and subcontractors who would be subject to the new rules. In anticipation of Mr. Trump taking office, several companies, like Meta and McDonald’s, canceled their DEI initiatives.

Tuesday’s order says DEI’s policies “undermine our national unity because they deny, discredit, and undermine traditional American values ​​of hard work, excellence, and individual achievement in favor of an illegal spoils system , corrosive and pernicious based on identity. .”