"Our country is going to be based on merit again," said President Trump.
A memo from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management ordered leaders to place all staff working in DEI roles on paid leave by 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
In President Trump's order, he says that DEI policies violate Federal civil rights laws and "undermine the traditional American values of hard work, excellence, and individual achievement in favor of an unlawful, corrosive, and pernicious identity-based spoils system."
"I think this DEI leave is just another example of kind of cruelty and pettiness," said Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine.
"The best way to stop discriminating against people on the basis of race or gender is to stop discriminating against people on the basis of race and gender," said Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy.
In 2022, the government released its first DEI progress report.
It found that the federal workforce reflects the broader U.S. population overall, with 60 percent of workers being white and 55 percent being male.
However, it found less diversity at the senior executive level, with more than 75 percent white and more than 60 percent male.
"So when you challenge the notion that doors should be open, you're challenging the progress that women have made. That people of color have made, that people of gender identity have made over the years to create a stronger and a better America. That's what this is about," said Marc Morial, President of the National Urban League.
Some policies and programs this order will impact will include training, accountability, and federal grant and benefits programs.
But one group who will not be impacted are those working for the federal judiciary.
According to the Eastern District of California, which oversees the U.S. Court House in downtown Fresno, "President Trump's executive order pertaining to DEI employees in Fresno, as far as we are aware, this executive order only pertains to employees of the executive branch of the government. The judiciary is not run by the executive branch," said Daniel Spohr-Grimes, Program Administrator with the United States District Court Eastern District of California.
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