Trump Admin Says Some Federal Employees Are Trying to Disguise DEI Programs

The Department of State in Washington on Aug. 12, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

The Trump administration on Wednesday sent memos that called on federal government employees to provide information about any agencies’ attempts to hide diversity programs, after he ordered government employees in offices administering such programs to be placed on paid leave.

The memo, which was sent to multiple federal agencies, said that some departments are trying to hide various “diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility” (DEIA) efforts.

“We are aware of efforts by some in government to disguise these programs by using coded or imprecise language,” the memo said. “There will be no adverse consequences for timely reporting this information.”

But it warned, “Failure to report this information within 10 days will result in adverse consequences.” The memo did not elaborate on penalties that would be doled out for potential violators.

The memo was sent to employees of several departments and attributed to different members of Trump’s cabinet. For example, it came from Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the State Department, Acting Attorney General James McHenry at the Department of Justice, Acting Secretary Bejamine Huffman at the Department of Homeland Security, and NASA chief Janet Petro.

A similar directive was issued by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) earlier this week, which said that by no later than 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 31, agency officials are to submit a “plan for executing a reduction-in-force action regarding the employees who work in a DEIA office.”

“Agencies should coordinate with OPM in preparing these plans,” it stated, adding that there should be “a list of all contract descriptions or personnel position descriptions that were changed since November 5, 2024 to obscure their connection to DEIA programs.”

The OPM directive also provided the very same email template that was sent out to federal employees on Wednesday.

“These programs divided Americans by race, wasted taxpayer dollars, and resulted in shameful discrimination,” the email template also said.

The Trump administration has taken other actions to root out DEI in the federal government. On his first day back in office, Trump signed an executive order to shut down DEI “mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities in the Federal Government, under whatever name they appear.”

On Tuesday, the president directed all federal DEI employees to be placed on leave by Wednesday afternoon and remove all social media accounts and websites associated with DEI policies. Agencies, meanwhile, were ordered to cancel all DEI-required training programs and terminate contracted workers who are involved.

Aside from the Trump administration’s action on DEI, several major U.S. corporations in recent months have also terminated or walked back DEI divisions, policies, and commitments. They include Walmart, Amazon, Meta Platforms, McDonald’s, Lowe’s, John Deere, Tractor Supply, and others, although some company boards—such as Costco—have signaled they will attempt to keep their company DEI policies around.

DEI policies are part of an organizational framework that its proponents say reduces discrimination on the basis of identity or disability or provides more representation to groups that some say have been subject to discrimination for their identities or disabilities.

But critics, including Trump in Monday’s inaugural speech, said they unfairly divide people based on race, sex, and other factors, while a study published in 2024 found that DEI training and policies may increase prejudice in an organization, namely against white people. Such policies gained traction across the corporate world and government in the wake of widespread, months-long protests and riots in 2020 following the death of a black man in police custody.

Amid Trump’s policy against DEI, several Democratic officials from around the country signed an open letter to defend such policies.

“Anti-DEI rhetoric and policy goals are dangerous, destructive, and discriminatory. Ultimately, they erect barriers to our American dreams,” the letter said. “As we hold ourselves accountable to defending and extending the benefits of DEI, we also hold you accountable to achieving the same goal.”

Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said in a statement that Trump’s decisions are a “smokescreen for firing civil servants, undermining the apolitical civil service, and turning the federal government into an army of yes-men loyal only to the president, not the Constitution.”

The Epoch Times contacted Homeland Security and NASA for comment but received no response by the time of publication.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.