Executive Order 14151
| "Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing" | |
 | |
| Type | Executive order |
|---|---|
| Number | 14151 |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Signed | January 20, 2025 |
| Federal Register details | |
| Federal Register document number | 2025-01953  |
| Publication date | January 29, 2025 |
Executive Order 14151, titled "Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing", is an executive order signed by Donald Trump, the 47th president of the United States, on January 20, 2025.[1]
Background
[edit]President Trump signed 26 executive orders on January 20, 2025, his first day as president during his second term.[2] These orders were officially published over the span of January 28 through January 31.[3]
In addition to EO 14151, other executive orders about "DEI" from Trump include:
Provisions and effects
[edit]EO 14151 directs the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to terminate all mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities relating to 'diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.'[4] It also mandates that agencies must report a list of all employees in DEI and "environmental justice" positions to the OMB director within 60 days.[2][5]
Implementation
[edit]Lists were compiled across the federal government of any employee that had ever worked in a post related to DEI, as well as employees who did work in such posts, but who'd purportedly taken part in some sort of diversity training, workshop, affinity group (see below), or other initiative. These employees were subsequently purged en masse.[6]
Department of Government Efficiency
[edit]An internal Department of Government Efficiency report obtained by the Washington Post outlined a three phrase process by which DOGE would lead a purge of DEI from the federal government.
- In Phase One, which took place on January 20, 2025, all DEI related executive orders and initiatives would be rescinded, offices at various federal organizations that served a DEI role would be dissolved and their employees terminated, federal websites would remove all DEI-related material from their websites, and DEI-related contracts would be terminated.
- In Phase Two, which is slated to last from January 21 to February 19, the government would begin purging employees that did not work in a DEI-related role, but who had taken part in DEI in some way that made them "corrupted".
- In Phase Three, scheduled for February 20 to July 19, the DOGE begins to commit mass-scale firings of any employee in any office or part of the federal government which did not take part in any DEI offices or initiatives, but who were nonetheless determined through unknown criteria to be "DEI-related".[7]
Department of Education
[edit]On February 2, it was reported that the Department of Education had put at least 100 employees, only two of whom actually worked in DEI, on administrative leave to await termination.[6][8] On February 14, the department put out a letter accusing American educational institutions of discriminating against white and Asian students based on race, and ordering a halt to any "hiring, promotion, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, prizes, administrative support, discipline, housing, graduation ceremonies, and all other aspects of student, academic, and campus life" that was related to DEI.[9]
Other federal departments
[edit]The Department of Energy put a double-digit number of employees on administrative leave awaiting termination under the order, less than a quarter of whom actually worked in a DEI role.[6][8] Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered the Department of Justice to criminally investigate any company with a DEI policy.[10] The Internal Revenue Service reportedly deleted any mention of diversity, equity, or inclusion from its procedural handbook.[8]
Office of Personnel Management
[edit]On February 2, it was reported that the OPM had put several employees, including many who had not worked in DEI but who'd previously taken part in a DEI-related initiative, on administrative leave to await termination.[6] The OPM also sent emails to all federal employees encouraging them to report any coworker they knew of who'd been involved with such initiatives.[8]
Universities
[edit]The United States Military Academy ordered the shutdown of all student "affinity" groups - student organizations oriented towards racial minorities, women, and/or LGBT people.[11]
Museums
[edit]The National Cryptologic Museum covered up plaques celebrating women and people of color who’d served the NSA, and the United States Army Women's Museum covered up a poster celebrating the contributions of transgender soldiers.[12]
Intelligence community
[edit]The Central Intelligence Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation both dissolved their diversity offices, with the former reportedly also dissolving all employee affinity groups (see above) and compiling lists of every employee that was part of one.[13][14]
The Defense Intelligence Agency and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency also reportedly dissolved their employee affinity groups, with the former also ceasing all recognition of Martin Luther King Day, Holocaust Remembrance Day, Black History Month, Pride Month, and other similar civil-rights related holidays.[6]
NASA
[edit]Employees at the NASA were instructed by headquarters to "drop everything" in favor of using the time to scrub NASA websites of anything relating to diversity, underrepresented minority groups, and/or women (such as women in leadership).[15]
National Science Foundation
[edit]The National Science foundation compiled an internal list of words the presence of which in a research paper, grant application, or other relevant documentation, would flag a project and put its funding under review. Words that would initiate a review included "women", "female", "gender", "bipoc", "LGBT", "disability", "hate speech", and "trauma, among others.[16][17]
National Endowment for the Arts
[edit]The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) imposed restrictions on grant applications to comply with the order barring federal funds for programs focused on DEI or used to "promote gender ideology".[18]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing". Federal Register. 2025-01-29. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
- ^ a b "All the executive orders Trump has signed after 1 week in office". NPR. 2025-01-28. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
- ^ "2025 Donald J. Trump Executive Orders". Federal Register. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
- ^ "Trump calls DEI programs 'illegal.' He plans to end them in the federal government". NPR. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
- ^ "Recent Executive Actions on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)". Congressional Research Service. 29 January 2025.
- ^ a b c d e "Trump's DEI purge targets federal workers who did not work in DEI - T…". archive.ph. 2025-02-02. Retrieved 2025-02-05.
- ^ "An annotated guide to DOGE's playbook for eliminating DEI - Washingto…". archive.ph. 2025-02-15. Retrieved 2025-02-16.
- ^ a b c d Stein, Chris (2025-02-02). "'Very retaliatory': the federal workers caught up in Trump's DEI purge". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-02-05.
- ^ Knox, Liam. "Ed Department: DEI Violates Civil Rights Law". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved 2025-02-16.
- ^ Stahl, Jeremy; Stern, Mark Joseph (2025-02-06). "Pam Bondi Instructs Trump DOJ to Criminally Investigate Companies That Do DEI". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2025-02-07.
- ^ Jeyaretnam, Miranda (2025-02-05). "Army Orders West Point to Disband Cadet Clubs". TIME. Retrieved 2025-02-05.
- ^ "Army museum covers display honoring transgender soldiers". The Independent. 2025-02-08. Retrieved 2025-02-08.
- ^ Merlan, Anna. "Chaos follows Trump's anti-DEI and "efficiency" measures". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2025-02-05.
- ^ "MSN". www.msn.com. Retrieved 2025-02-05.
- ^ Cole ·, Samantha (2025-02-04). "Workers at NASA Told to 'Drop Everything' to Scrub Mentions of Indigenous People, Women from Its Websites". 404 Media. Retrieved 2025-02-05.
- ^ "The words putting science funding in the crosshairs of Trump's orders…". archive.ph. 2025-02-13. Retrieved 2025-02-13.
- ^ Novak, Matt (2025-02-05). "The List of Trump's Forbidden Words That Will Get Your Paper Flagged at NSF". Gizmodo. Retrieved 2025-02-13.
- ^ Horton, Adrian (February 19, 2025). "Artists demand National Endowment for the Arts roll back Trump restrictions". The Guardian. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
External links
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