The Trump administration has directed that all federal staff involved in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives be put on paid leave, with eventual layoffs to follow. The Office of Personnel Management issued a memo this week instructing agencies to place DEI staff on leave by Wednesday evening and remove all related public webpages. The move is part of President Trump’s wider push to dismantle federal programmes aimed at addressing systemic racism.
Federal agencies have also been ordered to cancel any DEI-related training and terminate associated contracts. In addition, federal employees are being instructed to report any suspected rebranding of DEI programmes within ten days, or face potential consequences. Agencies must submit a list of DEI offices and workers by Thursday and develop a plan for a reduction-in-force action by next week.
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This directive follows an executive order signed by Trump on his first day back in office, targeting the broad range of DEI programmes, from anti-bias training to funding for minority farmers and homeowners. Trump has labelled these initiatives as discriminatory, vowing to restore what he terms a “merit-based” approach to federal hiring.
However, civil rights advocates have strongly opposed these measures, arguing that DEI programmes are crucial for addressing deep-rooted inequities and structural racism in government institutions and society at large.
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