Trump Orders Closure of Federal DEI Offices by Wednesday Deadline; DEI Staff Placed on Leave

Jan 22, 2025, 03:00 AM

President Donald Trump has signed executive orders Monday requiring the dismantling of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs across federal agencies. According to a memo issued Tuesday by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), DEI staff must be placed on paid administrative leave by 5 p.m. Wednesday, with plans to lay them off. The memo includes email templates for federal workers stating that DEI programs have "divided Americans by race, wasted taxpayer dollars, and resulted in shameful discrimination." Agencies are instructed to take down public DEI-focused webpages by the same deadline and warned of "adverse consequences" for attempts to "disguise" DEI initiatives under different names. The OPM directed agencies to report their progress within 24 hours.