[Federal Agencies Ordered to Terminate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Offices
Federal agencies have been instructed to terminate all diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) offices and positions to the maximum extent allowed by law within 60 days, according to a US Office of Personnel Management memo dated Friday. The memo also requests that agencies submit written plans for how they intend to execute a “reduction-in-force” by January 31.
The move is part of a larger clampdown on DEI by the Trump administration, which comes days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning DEI programs. The White House has already ordered government DEI employees to be placed on administrative leave and the president has cut high-profile military personnel and ended the use of DEI in hiring and federal contracting.
OPM has also requested lists of any job or contract descriptions that were changed since the November election to hide their DEIA connections. Failure to report these changes could result in “adverse consequences.”
Examples of programs involving DEI in major federal agencies include the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Equal Employment Opportunity, Diversity & Inclusion, and the Office of Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity Policy at the Department of Defense.
The American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal workers’ union, has pushed back against Trump’s plans to close DEIA offices, insisting the moves are part of a larger plan to get rid of federal workers.
While Trump and his allies have vowed to root out DEI in the government, former President Joe Biden signed a number of executive orders expanding workplace DEI protections to include a broader group of Americans.
Opponents of DEI programs claim that they are discriminatory and attempt to solve racial discrimination by disadvantaging other groups, particularly White Americans. However, supporters and industry experts argue that the decades-old practice has been politicized and is widely misunderstood.
The Trump administration’s attacks on DEI will likely face legal challenges, as civil rights and advocacy groups prepare for the numerous legal fights that would come from Republican efforts to dismantle DEI.
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