The Trump administration has ordered all federal employees in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) roles to be placed on paid leave, according to a new memo from the Office of Personnel Management.
The memo, issued on Tuesday, 21st January 2025, to department and agency heads, sets a deadline of 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday for informing the employees of their paid administrative leave status.
This action comes as agencies prepare to close all DEI-related offices and programmes, and remove all related websites and social media accounts. The memo also requests that federal agencies submit a written plan by 31st January for dismissing these employees.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday, 20th January 2025, ending what he described as “radical and wasteful” DEI programmes in federal agencies, with all DEI offices and initiatives being ordered to shut down.
“This is another win for Americans of all races, religions, and creeds. Promises made, promises kept,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt in a statement. “President Trump campaigned on ending the scourge of DEI from our federal government and returning America to a merit-based society where people are hired based on their skills, not for the colour of their skin.”
In addition to the DEI directive, Trump signed 46 executive orders and presidential actions on Monday, addressing several campaign pledges, including ending Biden-era border policies and pardoning the 6 January Capitol rioters.
On Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order targeting diverse hiring practices at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), arguing that such initiatives penalised “hard-working Americans who want to serve in the FAA but are unable to do so, as they lack a requisite disability or skin colour.”
