On Tuesday, January 21, 2025, the administration of President Donald Trump moved to place all federal employees in roles related to diversity, equity and inclusion on paid leave.
“President Trump campaigned on ending the scourge of DEI from our federal government and returning America to a merit based society where people are hired based on their skills, not for the color of their skin,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “This is another win for Americans of all races, religions, and creeds. Promises made, promises kept.”
The administration’s motion to place employees in specific roles on paid leave was immediately met with criticism and backlash. American Federation of Government Employees President Everett Kelley called it a “smokescreen for firing civil servants, undermining the apolitical civil service, and turning the federal government into an army of yes-men loyal only to the president, not the Constitution.”
“The federal government already hires and promotes exclusively on the basis of merit,” Kelley stated. “The results are clear: a diverse federal workforce that looks like the nation it serves, with the lowest gender and racial pay gaps in the country. We should all be proud of that.”
This is the latest action in Trump’s push to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs in federally funded areas. More recently, he signed an executive order revoking the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1965. Also, he signed an executive order that aimed to eliminate similar practices at the Federal Aviation Administration.
