President Donald Trump has directed that all US government staff involved in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives be immediately placed on paid administrative leave. The White House confirmed that all federal DEI employees were required to go on leave by 5:00 PM EST (10:00 PM GMT) on Wednesday, before the affected offices and programs were closed.
In an executive order released on Tuesday, Trump also urged an end to what he termed "dangerous, demeaning, and immoral" programs. Since taking office, the president has swiftly acted on various campaign promises through a series of unilateral actions, targeting DEI practices that he criticized for being discriminatory.
The exact number of people impacted by the order remains unclear, as stated by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), representing 800,000 federal workers. DEI programs aim to foster diverse participation in workplaces, with proponents arguing they combat historical underrepresentation and discrimination, although critics contend they can themselves be discriminatory.
Trump's inaugural promise was to "build a society that is color-blind and merit-based." A memorandum circulated by the US Office of Personnel Management to agency leaders on Tuesday mandated placing DEI staff on leave and instructed the removal of public DEI websites.
By Thursday, federal agencies must compile a list of DEI offices and staff. By January 31, agencies are to submit a plan for implementing layoffs in DEI offices. Trump's executive order challenged DEI and DEIA (diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility) policies, alleging they could breach crucial civil rights laws safeguarding Americans from discrimination.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt hailed the move as "a victory for Americans of all backgrounds," aligning with a Trump campaign pledge. The order accentuates individual initiative in federal hiring, promotions, and evaluations over DEI considerations. It nullifies a 1965 Civil Rights era executive order by former President Lyndon B Johnson prohibiting federal contractors from discriminatory practices based on various grounds.
It further mandates the attorney general to propose measures within 120 days encouraging the private sector to cease analogous diversity initiatives. Trump's executive orders have triggered opposition from federal employee unions, critiquing them for eroding gender and racial pay equality and undermining the merit-based civil service system.
The AFGE and other labor groups have condemned Trump's directives. The order represents an effort to "intimidate and target nonpartisan civil servants," according to the National Federation of Federal Workers. Trump's latest executive order on Tuesday follows a previous one vowing to eradicate deemed "radical and wasteful" programs. This mandate requires the termination of all DEI offices, roles, and programs within 60 days, within legal limits.
Recent weeks have seen several major US corporations disband or reduce their DEI initiatives, such as McDonald's, Walmart, and Meta (Facebook’s parent company). Conversely, Apple, Target, and Costco have publicly upheld their DEI commitments.