White House orders ‘useless’ government DEI employees to be placed on leave
Donald Trump in a McDonald’s chain. The company is one of many to roll back its DEI practices in the face of increasing right-wing backlash (Getty)
Governmental diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) employees have been forced to take paid administrative leave, on the first day of Donald Trump’s return to power.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt took to X/Twitter to reveal the move, saying employees in DEI and accessibility offices have to take leave no later than 5pm on Wednesday (22 January). A memo, issued by the US Office of Personnel Management on Tuesday (21 January), said it was effective immediately while “the agency takes steps to close/end all DEIA initiatives, offices and programs.”
In addition, federal agencies were ordered to cancel any equality-related training and to take down all “outward-facing media” from DEI offices.
To every reporter asking about this: I can gladly confirm! https://t.co/gRb356vSwO
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) January 22, 2025
The move follows Trump’s campaign promise to crack down on LGBTQ+-inclusive education and DEI in government. He also vowed to prevent transgender women taking part in female sport and to reinstate a ban on trans men and women serving in the armed forces.
On his first day in office, he ended the use of DEI hiring and federal contracting, and his stance has resulted in major companies, including Meta and Amazon, rolling back equality initiatives.
‘End the onslaught of useless and overpaid DEI activists’
Walmart, Ford, Lowe’s, Harley-Davidson and Jack Daniels had already scrapped their DEI programmes in the face of a campaign led by right-wing pundit Robby Starbuck. McDonald’s recently announced that they were following suit.
However, Apple’s board of directors is swimming against the tide and has asked shareholders to vote against a proposal to end DEI initiatives.
A statement released by the White House on Monday (20 January), said Trump would “freeze bureaucrat hiring except in essential areas, to end the onslaught of useless and overpaid DEI activists buried into the federal workforce. He will pause burdensome and radical regulations not yet in effect that [president] Biden announced.”
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