WASHINGTON – The administration of President Donald Trump has taken significant steps toward the termination of affirmative action in federal contracting, culminating in a directive for all staff members engaged in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts to be placed on paid leave and ultimately laid off.
This directive comes on the heels of an executive order signed by Trump on his first day in office aimed at overhauling the federal government’s diversity initiatives. These initiatives, which include programs related to anti-bias training and funding for minority farmers and homeowners, have been described by Trump as discriminatory. He advocates for a return to a strictly “merit-based” hiring process.
The new executive order on affirmative action revokes a policy put in place by former President Lyndon Johnson and restricts DEI programs for federal contractors and grant recipients. It reverses a strategy previously utilized by the Biden administration to encourage these initiatives among federal contractors, now seeking to dismantle them instead.
In a memo issued by the Office of Personnel Management, agencies were instructed to place DEI staff on administrative leave by Wednesday evening and to remove all public-facing DEI-related websites by the same deadline. Some federal departments preemptively removed these pages before receiving the memorandum. Additionally, federal agencies were directed to cancel DEI-related training, terminate associated contracts, and report any renaming of DEI programs that might obscure their purpose to the Office of Personnel Management within a specified timeframe to avoid potential penalties.
By Thursday, agencies must provide a list detailing federal DEI offices and personnel as of Election Day, with expectations to formulate a plan for reducing the workforce by the following Friday.
This recent action follows a Monday executive order which accused Joe Biden’s administration of implementing “discriminatory” programs under the guise of diversity, equity, and inclusion. It represents the initial effort of a more expansive campaign to dismantle DEI initiatives at a nationwide level, which includes directing the Justice Department and other federal entities to investigate private companies that conservative groups allege engage in discriminatory hiring practices against non-minorities, particularly white males.
The newly imposed order marks a continuation of actions taken during Trump’s first term, which saw his administration prohibit federal agency contractors and recipients of federal funds from conducting training centered on issues like systemic racism. Upon taking office, Biden quickly rescinded this order and established executive initiatives to promote DEI across the federal landscape, which have now been retracted.
While the implementation of these changes may stretch over months or years, Trump’s current anti-DEI agenda appears to be more robust and is occurring in a corporate environment that has become increasingly receptive to such changes. Major corporations, such as Walmart and Facebook, have already started reducing or completely eliminating certain diversity practices following Trump’s electoral victory and legal challenges spearheaded by conservative advocacy groups against them.
In terms of specific policies and programs targeted for dismantling, the following areas stand out:
**Diversity Offices, Training, and Accountability**
The new executive order is set to significantly erode the Biden administration’s comprehensive plan to integrate diversity and inclusion into the federal workforce, which employs around 2.4 million individuals. Biden’s administration had required federal agencies to create diversity plans, provide annual progress updates, and share demographic data tracking recruitment and promotional trends. Additionally, a Chief Diversity Officers Council was established to supervise the deployment of DEI efforts, which were documented in a 2022 government progress report highlighting the workforce’s demographic composition.
Trump’s executive order will discard these equity plans crafted by federal agencies and disband any positions or offices working on diversity initiatives. This includes halting DEI training and eliminating diversity objectives from performance assessments.
**Federal Grants and Benefits Programs**
Trump’s directive also sets the stage for a comprehensive and complicated review of federal spending programs amounting to billions of dollars that conservative advocates allege unfairly favor racial minorities and women. While specific programs targeted for elimination are not identified, the order mandates a thorough government review to ensure compliance with the administration’s anti-DEI position. It also seeks to resolve ongoing lawsuits related to federal aid programs benefiting historically underserved populations that some activists argue should be halted.
This executive order signifies a monumental shift in the federal government’s policies, according to conservative groups that have campaigned against current DEI structures. They highlight the complexity of dismantling established programs, acknowledging that federal assistance is often funneled through state-administered block grants.
**Pay Equity and Hiring Practices**
It remains uncertain whether the Trump administration will target all initiatives stemming from Biden’s DEI executive order. One key initiative that could be under scrutiny is the Biden administration’s ban on asking job applicants about their salary history, as this is seen as a measure to mitigate pay disparities experienced by women and people of color.
Implementing such extensive changes is not a straightforward process, as certain programs and practices have deep-rooted foundations that cannot simply be reversed overnight. As experts in the field note, while the language of Trump’s directive may be sweeping, actual implementation will face numerous complexities, as federal agencies have ingrained policies that require a more gradual approach to change.
