Trump administration directs all federal DEI staff be put on leave from January 22

Trump administration orders federal DEI staff on paid leave, plans to lay off, dismantle diversity and inclusion programs nationwide.

President Donald Trump’s administration is directing that all federal diversity, equity and inclusion staff be put on paid leave, and that agencies develop plans to lay them off, according to a memo Tuesday (January 21, 2025) from the Office of Personnel Management.

The memo follows an executive order Mr. Trump signed on his first day ordering a sweeping dismantling of the federal government’s diversity and inclusion programs that could touch on everything from anti-bias training to funding for minority farmers and homeowners.

The memo direct agencies to place Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) office staffers on paid leave by 5 p.m. from Wednesday (January 22, 2025) and take down all public DEI-focused webpages by the same deadline. Several federal departments had removed the webpages even before the memorandum.

By Thursday (January 23, 2025), federal agencies are directed to compile a list of federal DEI offices and workers as of Election Day. By next Friday (January 31, 2025) they are expected to develop a list to execute a “reduction-in-force action” against those federal workers.

Mr. Trump has ordered a sweeping dismantling of the federal government's diversity and inclusion programs that could include everything from anti-bias training to funding for minority farmers and homeowners.

The executive order accuses former President Joe Biden of forcing “discrimination” programs into “virtually all aspects of the federal government” through “diversity, equity and inclusion” programs, known as DEI. The order gives all federal agencies 60 days to close all offices and positions dedicated to DEI and dismantle any aspects of programs, grants and contracts related to diversity, equity or “environmental justice.”

That step is the first salvo in an aggressive campaign to upend DEI efforts nationwide, including leveraging the Justice Department and other agencies to investigate private companies pursuing training and hiring practices that conservative critics consider discriminatory against non-minority groups such as white men.