Trump calls DEI programs 'illegal.' He plans to end them in the federal government

For the past four years, the federal government embraced the idea that a more diverse, inclusive workforce would better serve the American people.

Now, with the stroke of his pen, President Trump has abruptly reversed course.

On Monday, Trump issued an executive order terminating "illegal DEI and 'diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility' (DEIA) mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities in the Federal Government, under whatever name they appear."

A second executive order issued Tuesday revokes numerous executive actions of administrations past, including some that had been in effect for decades. One issued by former President Bill Clinton required federal agencies to address environmental justice for low-income and minority populations. Another signed by former President Lyndon B. Johnson required government contractors to adopt nondiscriminatory practices in hiring and employment.

Even as Trump's critics decry the moves, federal agencies are getting to work carrying out his vision.

Agencies ordered to put DEIA employees on paid leave

On Tuesday, U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) acting director Charles Ezell sent a memo to agency leaders ordering them to place all employees of DEIA offices on paid administrative leave no later than 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Agencies were also told to send agency-wide notices "asking employees if they know of any efforts to disguise these programs by using coded or imprecise language." OPM provided a template for these notices that included an email address for reporting such efforts and a warning that failure to do so may result in "adverse consequences."

Additionally, agencies were directed to take down websites and social media accounts, cancel trainings and terminate any contractors related to DEIA work.

By noon Thursday, agencies are to submit to OPM a complete list of DEIA offices and anyone who was working in those offices as of Nov. 5, 2024, the date of the presidential election.

Agencies are required to submit a written plan by Jan. 31 for layoffs of those working in DEIA offices, the memo says.

It wasn't immediately clear how many federal employees will be laid off.

"Given the broad brush that they have painted, it's potentially very large numbers of people," says Rob Shriver, acting head of OPM under former President Joe Biden.

Shriver, who's now managing director of Civil Service Strong at the legal advocacy group Democracy Forward, sees the move as part of a larger effort by the Trump administration to sideline career employees in favor of political loyalists.

Under Biden, a massive scale-up of DEIA work

In fact, DEIA programs exist throughout the federal government because of a series of executive actions taken by Biden.

His administration called on federal agencies to recruit more job candidates from underserved communities, run training programs advancing principles of equity and inclusion, and address pay inequities, among other steps. Agencies created new positions to oversee the work.

Longtime DEIA consultant Alaysia Black Hackett, who served as chief diversity and equity officer at the Labor Department, says a common misperception is that the work is only about race.

"A lot of what we did in DEIA, specifically at the Labor Department, was to ensure that we were creating pathways to good paying jobs," she says. "Our strategy was to build an economy for all workers."

Sometimes the work involved figuring out which communities could benefit from more training opportunities or apprenticeships. Other times it involved simplifying government documents to ensure farmworkers in the South fully understood their rights and were paid correctly and provided adequate breaks.

"It's not just something that we morally do, but it actually helps with the economic prosperity of our country," says Hackett.

Prior to serving in the federal government, Hackett led diversity and inclusion work in the office of former Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam. Both experiences have sharpened her belief that government needs to reflect the country that America is today.

"When you think about who was in the room during the creation of the Constitution of the United States of America, there was one vantage point, one lens, which was white male men," she says.

Facing penalties for faithfully doing their jobs

Hackett, a political appointee, left her post at the end of the Biden administration. She believes anywhere from a couple dozen to more than a hundred employees still at the Labor Department could be affected by Trump's executive order.

Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, condemned the developments unfolding this week.

"Penalizing career civil servants for faithfully doing their jobs during a prior administration is wrong," he wrote in a statement. "The affected employees are everyday people who have to support themselves and their families, and the abrupt and rushed approach chosen here will have a traumatizing impact on not just them but their colleagues who remain in their roles serving the public, as well."

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