President Donald Trump has called on federal agencies to get rid of diversity, equity and inclusion programs and warned employees to report efforts to disguise such programs or face consequences.
The warning came after Trump issued an executive order ending all diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the federal government earlier this week saying they discriminate against certain groups of people and waste money. Trump’s order gave the job to the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Personnel Management and the Department of Justice.
OPM drafted a letter for federal agencies to send to employees notifying them of the changes. The letter warned about efforts to get around the executive order.
“We are aware of efforts by some in government to disguise these programs by using coded or imprecise language,” it states. “If you are aware of a change in any contract description or personnel position description since November 5, 2024 to obscure the connection between the contract and DEIA or similar ideologies, please report all facts and circumstances to [email protected] within 10 days.
“Failure to report such activities after the 10-day period could result in ‘adverse consequences,"” it notes.
The draft letter further notes that “these programs divided Americans by race, wasted taxpayer dollars, and resulted in shameful discrimination.”
Workers have since reported getting emails similar to the draft letter from federal agencies.
Trump also ordered all federal staff working on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion activities immediately be put on paid leave. That announcement came via a memo from the OPM, essentially the federal government’s human resources department. According to the memo, all DEI offices will be closed, and federal agency leaders have until the end of the month to submit plans on how they will close those offices. All online websites and social media accounts must be removed as well, according to the memo.
The American Federation of Government Employees, a union that represents 800,000 federal employees, called Trump’s order an excuse for “firing civil servants.”
“Ultimately, these attacks on DEIA are just 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,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said in a statement.
Kelley said Trump’s efforts would erode the government’s merit-based approach to hiring.
“Undoing these programs is just another way for President Trump to undermine the merit-based civil service and turn federal hiring and firing decisions into loyalty tests,” Kelley said. “Our nation’s military leaders have said that eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion programs within the Defense Department risks undermining military readiness.”
On Thursday, Trump told world leaders that he was making America a “merit-based country” during a speech by satellite to the 2025 meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
DEI programs were designed to boost minority participation in the federal workforce. Such policies have come under fire from Republicans, including Trump and others.
The Asian American Coalition for Education applauded Trump’s efforts.
“Affirmative action and woke DEI programs are racism in disguise. President Trump’s executive orders rescinding affirmative action and banning DEI programs are a major milestone in American civil rights progress and a critical step towards building a color-blind society,” Yukong Mike Zhao, the president of AACE, said. “AACE urges the U.S. Congress to enact legislation that permanently outlaws all aspects of affirmative action and DEI programs in America.”
