President Donald Trump signed executive orders on Tuesday banning diversity, equity and inclusion offices and initiatives in the federal government.
The orders will end federal DEI programs, mandate merit-based practices and eliminate related offices.
Wednesday morning, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management sent a memorandum to all heads and acting heads of departments and agencies regarding the first steps to be taken to begin implementing Trump’s executive orders related to DEI.
Per The Associated Press, an additional executive order ends affirmative action in government contracting, revoking an order issued by President Lyndon B. Johnson, and also directed that all federal DEI staffers be put on paid leave before being laid off.
Trump is using one of the tools utilized by the Biden administration to promote DEI programs across the private sector — mandating its use by federal contractors — to now try to eradicate them.
Trump’s step-by-step plan to dismantle DEI
The memorandum laid out the steps the Trump administration will take to close federal DEI agencies and offices, requiring agency leadership to take the following steps by no later than 5 p.m. Wednesday:
- Send an agency-wide notice to employees informing them of the closures. Then, agency heads are required to ask employees if they know of efforts to disguise the programs.
- Send notification to all DEI employees that they are being placed on paid administrative leave immediately.
- Take down DEI offices’ outward facing media, including websites and social media accounts.
- Withdraw any final or pending documents, directives, orders, materials and equity plans issued by the agency.
- Cancel DEI-related trainings and terminate DEI-related contractors.
The memorandum also contained additional items to be completed in January.
By no later than noon on Thursday, the directive requires DEI offices to report the following to Office of Personnel Management:
- A complete list of DEI offices and employees as of Nov. 5, 2024
- A complete list of DEIA contracts as of Nov. 5
- Any agency plans to comply with the mentioned executive orders and the memorandum
The memorandum continued, by no later than 5 p.m. on Jan. 31, agency heads must submit:
- A written plan for executing the requirements listed
- A list of all changes in contracts and positions since Nov. 5
In addition to outlining the steps agency heads must take, the memo also includes an email template that can be sent to employees.
The template email references Trump’s specific executive orders and says that DEI initiatives as a whole “divided Americans by race, wasted taxpayer dollars and resulted in shameful discrimination.”
The memo adds that failure to comply with its requests within 10 days “may result in adverse consequences.”
Another template outlines what DEI workers about to be laid off should expect. Workers will continue to receive their full salary and benefits during the administrative leave period, are not required to do any work, are not expected to come into the office, and will have their email access suspended.
OPM’s DEI page already taken down
The Office of Personnel Management has already begun eliminating DEI programs. As of Wednesday, its DEI about us page had been removed, as had documents outlining the organization’s DEI practices.
Other agencies were expected to follow suit.