The Trump administration made several decisive moves to overhaul federal hiring practices in a flurry of orders.
First, all federal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) employees will be placed on paid leave by Wednesday evening.
The directive was issued Tuesday in a memo from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to department and agency heads.
Acting OPM Director Charles Ezell instructed leaders to place DEI staff on leave, remove all DEI-related websites and social media accounts, and notify employees of the closures.
Departments are also required to report on compliance with the memorandum by Thursday and submit a complete list of DEI employees as of November 2024.
Ezell further urged agencies to identify any attempts to disguise or rebrand DEI programs and submit a detailed plan to implement the changes by January 31, 2025.
In a separate executive order issued Tuesday, Trump directed the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to immediately end DEI-related hiring practices and return to merit-based hiring.
“All so-called DEI initiatives, including all dangerous preferencing policies or practices, shall immediately be rescinded in favor of hiring, promoting, and otherwise treating employees on the basis of individual capability, competence, achievement, and dedication,” the directive stated.
Trump argued that DEI hiring policies undermine public confidence in employee qualifications, particularly in industries like aviation, where safety is paramount.
“Illegal and discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hiring, including on the basis of race, sex, disability, or any other criteria other than the safety of airline passengers and overall job excellence, competency, and qualification, harms all Americans, who deserve to fly with confidence,” the order read.
The actions follow President Trump’s Monday executive order, Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing.
The order reverses President Biden’s 2021 initiative to promote diversity and remove workforce barriers for underrepresented groups. Trump has framed the rollback as a return to fairness and equal opportunity.
“Under my leadership, we will restore fair, equal and impartial justice under the constitutional rule of law, and we are going to bring law and order back to our cities,” Trump said during his inaugural speech.
“This week, I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life. We will forge a society that is colorblind and merit-based.”
