WASHINGTON — The federal Office of Personnel Management (OPM) notified heads of agencies and departments that they must begin taking steps to close all diversity, equity and inclusion offices by the end of the day Wednesday and place government workers in those offices on paid leave, Fox News Digital has learned.
Acting Director of the Office of Personnel Management Charles Ezell sent a memo to heads and acting heads of departments and agencies on Tuesday evening directing them that by no later than 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 22, they are to:
- Send an agency-wide notice to employees informing them of the closure and asking employees if they know of any efforts to disguise these programs by using coded or imprecise language
- Send a notification to all employees of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) offices that they are being placed on paid administrative leave effective immediately as the agency takes steps to close/end all DEIA initiatives, offices and programs.
- Take down all outward facing media (websites, social media accounts, etc.) of DEIA offices
- Withdraw any final or pending documents, directives, orders, materials and equity plans issued by the agency in response to the now-repealed Executive Order 14035, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce (June 25, 2021)
- Cancel any DEIA-related trainings and terminate any DEIA-related contractors
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The memo also directed the heads of agencies and departments that by noon Thursday, Jan. 23, they must share with OPM:
- A complete list of DEIA offices and any employees who were in those offices as of Nov. 5, 2024
- A complete list of all DEIA-related agency contracts as of Nov. 5, 2024
- Any agency plans to fully comply with the above executive orders and this memorandum
By Friday at 5 p.m., agency heads must submit to OPM:
- A written plan for executing a reduction-in-force action regarding the employees who work in a DEIA office
- A list of all contract descriptions or personnel position descriptions that were changed since Nov. 5, 2024, to obscure their connection to DEIA programs
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The memo comes after President Trump signed an executive order on Monday to eliminate all DEI programs from the federal government.
The president also signed an order making it “the official policy of the U.S. government to only recognize two genders: male and female.”
Trump issued two other executive actions on Tuesday targeting DEI — an executive order to end discrimination in the workplace and higher education through race- and sex-based preferences under the guise of DEI and a memo to eliminate a Biden administration policy that prioritized DEI hiring at the Federal Aviation Administration.
President Trump signed an executive order on Monday to eliminate all DEI programs from the federal government. (Adobe Stock)
In the executive order signed Tuesday, Trump sought to protect Americans from discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. He said these civil-rights protections “serve as a bedrock supporting equality of opportunity for all Americans” and that he “has a solemn duty to ensure that these laws are enforced for the benefit of all Americans.”
“Yet today, roughly 60 years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, critical and influential institutions of American society, including the Federal Government, major corporations, financial institutions, the medical industry, large commercial airlines, law enforcement agencies, and institutions of higher education have adopted and actively use dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences under the guise of so-called ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (DEI) or ‘diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility’ (DEIA) that can violate the civil-rights laws of this Nation,” the order reads.
It adds that these “illegal DEI and DEIA policies also threaten the safety of American men, women, and children across the Nation by diminishing the importance of individual merit, aptitude, hard work, and determination when selecting people for jobs and services in key sectors of American society, including all levels of government, and the medical, aviation, and law-enforcement communities.”
In the memo on Tuesday rolling back Biden’s DEI hiring practices at the FAA, Trump orders the Secretary of Transportation and FAA Administrator to immediately stop Biden’s DEI hiring programs and return to non-discriminatory, merit-based hiring.
The FAA Administrator must also review the past performance and performance standards of all agency employees in critical safety positions and make it clear that anyone who fails to demonstrate adequate capability is replaced by someone who will ensure flight safety and efficiency.
A sign marks the entrance to the FAA headquarters in Washington D.C., on October 7, 2024. (J. David Ake/Getty Images)
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“Illegal and discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hiring, including on the basis of race, sex, disability, or any other criteria other than the safety of airline passengers and overall job excellence, competency, and qualification, harms all Americans, who deserve to fly with confidence,” the memo reads. “It also penalizes hard-working Americans who want to serve in the FAA but are unable to do so, as they lack a requisite disability or skin color. FAA employees must hold the qualifications and have the ability to perform their jobs to the highest possible standard of excellence.”
The memo states: “All so-called DEI initiatives, including all dangerous preferencing policies or practices, shall immediately be rescinded in favor of hiring, promoting, and otherwise treating employees on the basis of individual capability, competence, achievement, and dedication.”
