Trump administration directs all federal diversity, equity and inclusion staff be put on leave

▶ Follow live updates on President Donald Trump’s return to Washington WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s administration has moved to end affirmative action in federal contracting and directed that all federal diversity, equity and inclusion staff be put on paid leave and eventually be laid off. The moves Tuesday follow an executive order 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 move comes after Monday’s executive order accused 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. President Donald Trump’s administration moved Tuesday to end affirmative action in federal contracting and directed that all federal diversity, equity and inclusion staff be put on paid leave and eventually be laid off. Bains said that’s what Biden’s DEI policies were about: ensuring that the federal government was structured to include historically marginalized communities, not institute “reverse discrimination against white men.” Despite the sweeping language of Trump’s order, Farrell said, “the reality of implementing such massive structural changes is far more complex.” “Federal agencies have deeply embedded policies and procedures that can’t simply be switched off overnight,” she added.