February 16th 2025.
Donald Trump's disdain for diversity, equity, and inclusion policies has been no secret, and it seems his attacks are only going to escalate in the next six months. Leaked documents from Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency have revealed their plans to wage a full-on war against these policies.
According to sources at The Washington Post, DOGE employees will be targeting staff members who do not hold specific roles in DEI and instead work in offices that aim to protect equal rights. This includes offices like the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which fights for fair treatment in the workplace, the Department of Veterans Affairs, which provides support to veterans, and an office within the Department of Health and Human Services that focuses on the health of minority populations.
The leaked documents, reportedly from DOGE employees, indicate that the next step for Musk and his Silicon Valley allies is to terminate workers who may not directly hold DEI roles, but are deemed to be related to diversity, equity, and inclusion in some way. Although the specifics are not yet clear, employees are concerned that these actions could face legal challenges and may even be deemed illegal.
However, the White House is standing by DOGE's actions, citing them as a necessary measure to combat waste, fraud, and abuse. A White House spokesperson made comments to The Washington Post on February 14th, stating that their goal is to rid the federal government of DEI entirely. This has raised concerns that the administration views diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives as wasteful and abusive.
While conservatives tend to associate DEI solely with Black Americans, the term actually encompasses a much larger group of individuals, including disabled persons, veterans, women, and any ethnic minority, as well as those who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community.
According to Politico, DOGE and the Department of Education have already taken steps to remove diversity, equity, and inclusion programming in public schools and universities. They have threatened to withdraw funding from state education departments if these institutions do not comply with their demands within 14 days of receiving a letter from the Department of Education's acting assistant secretary for civil rights, Craig Trainor.
Trainor's letter heavily references a 2023 Supreme Court decision that ended race-based affirmative action in college admissions. He argues that treating students differently based on their race to achieve vague goals such as diversity or social justice is illegal and goes against Supreme Court precedent.
Democrats have already condemned Trainor's letter, with Senator Patty Murray stating in a press release that it is yet another example of the Trump administration overstepping their legal boundaries in their pursuit of anything they deem related to DEI.
Murray added, "This threat to strip federal funding from our public schools and colleges goes against the law. I hope no parent, student, or teacher is intimidated by these threats - as a former preschool teacher, I certainly am not. While we are left to guess what the Trump administration considers to fall under their definition of 'DEI', there is no justification for them to impose such a mandate. In fact, federal laws expressly prohibit any president from dictating what schools and colleges can teach, including the Every Student Succeeds Act that I negotiated with Republicans. I will not stand by and let Trump and Elon bully our schools into avoiding important and necessary topics, such as the history of slavery, treatment of indigenous peoples in America, and the crucial role of the civil rights movement."
[This article has been trending online recently and has been generated with AI. Your feed is customized.]
[Generative AI is experimental.]
