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By noon on Thursday, January 23, agency leaders must provide OPM with detailed lists of DEI offices, employees, and contracts that existed as of November 5, 2024. They must also outline plans for full compliance with the new executive orders. Additionally, by Friday evening, departments are required to submit reduction-in-force plans to eliminate DEI-related positions.
Trump’s Broader Crackdown on DEI Initiatives
The memo follows a series of executive actions signed by President Trump earlier this week. On Monday, Trump issued an order declaring the official government policy to recognize only two genders: male and female. He also repealed policies implemented under the Biden administration that prioritized DEI hiring within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Another executive order aims to combat discrimination in higher education and the workplace by eliminating race- and sex-based preferences.
“Roughly 60 years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, critical and influential institutions, including the Federal Government, have adopted dangerous and immoral race- and sex-based preferences under the guise of so-called ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion,’” Trump wrote in one order. He emphasized that these practices undermine merit-based hiring and the civil rights laws designed to protect all Americans.
Criticism of DEI Policies in Federal Agencies
The administration’s actions highlight concerns over the impact of DEI policies on merit-based hiring and public safety. The executive order explicitly criticizes DEI initiatives for “diminishing the importance of individual merit, aptitude, hard work, and determination.” It argues that such policies can compromise key sectors, including aviation, law enforcement, and healthcare, by prioritizing identity-based preferences over qualifications and competency.
In the memo addressing DEI hiring at the FAA, Trump called such practices “illegal and discriminatory,” stating that they penalize hardworking Americans who are passed over for jobs because they don’t meet DEI criteria. “FAA employees must hold the qualifications and have the ability to perform their jobs to the highest possible standard of excellence,” the memo insists.
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Shifting the Focus Back to Merit
The directive concludes by mandating that all DEI initiatives be replaced with policies emphasizing “individual capability, competence, achievement, and dedication.” It is a stark departure from the DEI framework championed during the Biden administration, signaling a broader effort to reshape federal hiring and workplace policies.
This latest move underscores President Trump’s commitment to reversing progressive policies and restoring what he describes as fairness and equality in federal employment practices. Whether this will prompt legal challenges or resistance from DEI advocates remains to be seen, but the administration’s position is clear: merit, not identity, will be the guiding principle for federal hiring moving forward.
