As of January 21, 2025, President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that represents a massive shift in the federal government’s stance on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. This move aims to dismantle Biden-era DEI initiatives designed to promote inclusivity in the workplace, coming after a massive backlash of DEI programs in recent years and signals a shift toward a “merit-based hiring approach“, which Trump and his supporters argue is more fair and less discriminatory.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM), in a memo directed to government agencies, has issued commands for federal agencies to dismantle their DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility) and DEI Programs offices and programs following the executive order signed by President Donald Trump. The memo instructed agencies to take immediate action to comply with the new directive.
According to the OPM memo, federal agencies were required to take the following steps by 5 PM EST on January 22, 2025:
- Notify all DEIA office employees that they were being placed on paid administrative leave
- Take down all public-facing DEIA-focused media, including websites and social media accounts
- Withdraw any documents, equity plans, or materials created under Executive Order 14035
- Cancel all DEIA-related training and terminate contracts associated with DEIA programs
Agencies were required to report compliance to the OPM by January 23, 2025, including a complete list of DEIA and DEI offices, employees, and contracts. The memo stated, “There will be no adverse consequences for timely reporting this information. However, failure to report this information within 10 days may result in adverse consequences.”
An agency-wide notice template provided in the memo further emphasizes the administration’s stance on DEI and DEIA: “We are taking steps to close all agency DEI offices and end all DEI-related contracts under President Trump’s executive orders titled ‘Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing and Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions‘. These programs divided Americans by race, wasted taxpayer dollars, and resulted in shameful discrimination.”
While these actions represent a major policy shift, the full impact of the executive order on federal agencies and employees in DEI-related roles remains unclear.
