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Commentary

Trump Administration Drills Deep to Dump DEI

January 29, 2025

On day one, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to terminate all DEI “mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities in the Federal Government, under whatever name they appear.” On day two, the White House Office of Personnel Management (OPM) told federal agencies and departments to implement the order by furloughing DEI staff and shuttering DEI offices. On day three, interim agency heads took further action against DEI, which, if less flashy, may result in longer-lasting change.

“We are taking steps to close all agency Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) offices and end all DEIA-related contracts in accordance with President Trump’s Executive Orders,” acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine C. Huffman told the department staff on January 22.

The rest of the memo embraced Trump’s order to eliminate DEI activities “under whatever name they appear.” Wrote Huffman:

“We are aware of efforts by some in government to disguise these programs by using coded or imprecise language. If you are aware of a change in any contract description or personnel position description since November 5, 2024, to obscure the connection between the contract and DEIA or similar ideologies, please report all facts and circumstances to [email] within 10 days. There will be no adverse consequences for timely reporting this information. However, failure to report this information within 10 days will result in adverse consequences.”

This effort was not confined to Homeland Security. The DHS memo uses language identical to a memo that acting NASA Administrator Janet Petro sent to her personnel, as reported by Space News. The usage of identical language suggests that this memo was sent to multiple agencies and departments — possibly most or even all of them — even though only these two received public attention.

The memo did not elaborate on its reference to insider efforts to disguise DEI activities “by using coded or imprecise language.” It could be in reference to an FBI whistleblower warning that operatives were secretly planting DEI deep within the bureau. It could also reflect prior knowledge (or at least suspicions) about government agencies doing just that.

On Thursday, multiple conservative news agencies reported that attempts to hide DEI were underway at the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Bureau (ATF) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The Daily Caller was typical, stating that the ATF and CBP “changed the names of their DEI-related programs and staff positions, while seemingly retaining personnel and policy.”

For instance, the news reports observed that the ATF’s DEI chief, Lisa T. Boykin, had an overnight title change from “chief diversity officer” on Tuesday to “senior executive” on Wednesday of last week. These news reports led Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) to react, “The ATF defied @realDonaldTrump’s order to place DEI workers on leave, instead giving their DEI officer a new title. … Enough is enough. Time to abolish the ATF!”

However, these news reports may have been guilty of over-interpreting the facts. An ATF spokesman told Fox News, “We have proactively taken the necessary steps to ensure compliance with this guidance, including by placing impacted personnel on administrative leave.” He did not immediately clarify whether Boykin was among those placed on leave. When Fox News “reached out to Boykin on her ATF email,” they “received an automatic response noting she was unavailable to reply.” This is consistent with the possibility that Boykin had been placed on leave.

In other words, the website title change, by itself, does not constitute sufficient proof that ATF personnel are deliberately defying Trump’s directives.

Likewise at CBP, conservative media noticed that a DEI webpage was edited between Tuesday and Wednesday. Its title was changed from “Diversity and Inclusion” to “Special Emphasis Programs,” but much of the content, which used the word “diversity” freely, was unaltered. Now, The Daily Caller noted, the entire page has been removed. Was this a poor but deliberate cover-up attempt? Or was it a genuine but initially ineffective attempt to comply? The available evidence is not strong enough to prove either scenario.

In any event, it is clear that Trump’s department and agency leaders are vigorously implementing the executive order to abolish DEI, and they are vigilantly investigating any attempted cover-ups. If any bureaucrats are willfully defying the president’s orders by secretly hiding DEI in federal agencies, they have now been warned about the “adverse consequences” that could result. And President Trump has already proven his willingness to fire people.

It was easy to overlook the tidbits of news amid the whirlwind of Trump’s inaugural week. Whole-of-government actions abounded, while this news came out piecemeal. Controversy generates clicks, but good organization management does not. The very fact that Trump appointees continue to carry out his anti-DEI order far below the level penetrated by the media spotlight proves that the order was not for show, but that the Trump administration is striving to create a sea change throughout the federal government. That persistence, even without a spotlight, is why they just might succeed.

The point is, the balance of evidence available so far suggests that the Trump administration is meeting with success in its efforts to root out DEI from the federal bureaucracy.

Joshua Arnold is a senior writer at The Washington Stand.



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