Federal Agencies Under Pressure to Dismiss DEI Workers
Key Points:
- President Donald Trump has launched a firm crackdown on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) workers as he begins his second term.
- The Trump administration is accelerating efforts to dismiss federal employees in DEI and “environmental justice” roles.
- In a memo shared on Friday, the acting head of the US Office of Personnel Management directed government agencies to terminate all DEI-related positions within sixty days.
- The exact number of employees affected by this decision has not been disclosed.
- President Trump explained his reasoning in his inaugural address on January 20, saying, “end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life.”
- He also referred to DEI initiatives as discrimination against white men during his presidential campaign.
- Following Trump’s orders, federal agencies are removing any mentions of diversity hiring from their websites.
- The Education Department announced it had dissolved DEI-focused councils, and the State, Labor, and Commerce Departments also removed DEI pages from their websites.
- The National Gallery of Art, receiving federal funds, closed its office dedicated to “belonging and inclusion.”
