The Trump administration is accelerating its moves to dismantle DEI efforts by directing agencies to begin terminating DEI positions and staff.
The Trump administration has accelerated its push to purge the federal government of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), with a new memo from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) directing all agencies to start firing DEI staff immediately.
The memo, released on Jan. 24 by OPM acting director Charles Ezell, provides new guidance to heads of federal agencies regarding President Donald Trump’s executive order on ending government DEI programs, which the president has deemed “radical and wasteful.”
“In accordance with that order, each agency, department, or commission head shall take action to terminate, to the maximum extent allowed by law, all DEI, DEIA, and ‘environmental justice’ offices and positions within sixty days,” Ezell wrote in the memo.
Further, the memo states that agencies “can and should” start sending reduction-in-force (RIF) notices to employees in DEI offices immediately. RIF notices are formal notifications issued to employees whose positions are being eliminated, specifying factors such as effective date, reasons for termination, or any rights or benefits they may have such as severance pay.
Ezell’s memo represents an acceleration of efforts to terminate DEI staff and eliminate DEI positions across the federal government.
An earlier memo Ezell sent to agency heads on Jan. 21 directed them to take a series of actions to roll back DEI, including canceling any DEI-related trainings, terminate contracts with external DEI advisers, and submit a written plan for executing a reduction-in-force action for DEI staff by Jan. 31. The memo also directed agencies to put employees of DEI offices on paid leave immediately.
The latest actions are part of the Trump administration’s efforts to root out DEI, which Trump and his Republican allies have long opposed. In his DEI-related executive order, Trump said DEo policies amount to “shameful discrimination.”
“That ends today,” Trump wrote in the executive order. “Americans deserve a government committed to serving every person with equal dignity and respect, and to expending precious taxpayer resources only on making America great.”
Proponents of DEI argue that such policies help reduce discrimination based on identity or disability and enhance representation for diverse groups.
Critics, including The Heritage Foundation, contend that DEI initiatives represent a form of Marxist identity politics.
Public backlash against DEI policies has grown in recent years, further intensified by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in July 2023 to strike down affirmative action admissions programs at colleges.
Aside from the Trump administration’s actions on DEI, a number of major U.S. corporations have rolled back DEI initiatives. Companies including Caterpillar, McDonald’s, Southwest Airlines, Toyota, and others have all revised their DEI-related policies in recent months. Walmart announced in November that it would discontinue financing events aimed at LGBT youth and end its participation in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index.
The Human Rights Campaign has criticized the corporate DEI retreat, warning that it could have negative consequences, both in terms of business success and the ability to attract diverse workforces.
A number of Democratic lawmakers have defended DEI policies.
“Anti-DEI rhetoric and policy goals are dangerous, destructive, and discriminatory. Ultimately, they erect barriers to our American dreams,” reads an open letter signed by around two dozen Democratic lawmakers. “As we hold ourselves accountable to defending and extending the benefits of DEI, we also hold you accountable to achieving the same goal.”