Trump Administration Claims Some Federal Employees are Attempting to Conceal DEI Initiatives
A memo distributed on Wednesday indicated that there would be ‘negative repercussions’ for not reporting obfuscated programs.
On Wednesday, the Trump administration released memos urging federal employees to report any attempts by agencies to conceal diversity programs. This move followed his directive for employees involved with such programs to be placed on paid leave.
“We are aware of efforts by some in the government to mask these programs using coded or vague language,” stated the memo. “There will be no adverse consequences for timely reporting of this information.”
However, it cautioned, “Failure to report this information within 10 days will lead to adverse consequences.” The memo did not specify what penalties might be imposed on violators.
“Agencies are expected to collaborate with OPM in crafting these plans,” it noted, specifying that they must include “a list of all contract descriptions or personnel position descriptions altered since November 5, 2024 to obscure their association with DEIA programs.”
The OPM directive also provided the same email template that federal employees received on Wednesday.
“These programs have divided Americans by race, misallocated taxpayer funding, and resulted in unacceptable discrimination,” the email template expressed.
The Trump administration has initiated additional measures to eliminate DEI from the federal sphere. On his first day back in office, Trump enacted an executive order aimed at dismantling DEI “mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities in the Federal Government, regardless of their label.”
DEI policies aim to create an organizational atmosphere that proponents claim diminishes discrimination based on identity or disability and enhances representation for groups that have historically faced discrimination.
“The rhetoric against DEI and its associated policy goals is both perilous and discriminatory. In the end, it erects barriers to our aspirations as Americans,” the letter maintained. “As we strive to uphold and extend the advantages of DEI, we will also hold you accountable for the same.”
Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, remarked that Trump’s decisions serve as a “distraction aimed at dismissing civil servants, undermining the nonpartisan civil service, and transforming the federal government into a network of loyalists to the president rather than the Constitution.”
The Epoch Times reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and NASA for comments but did not receive any response by the time of publication.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.