Trump's team wants snitches to expose DEI work
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The Trump administration, seeking to stamp out federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, is calling on government employees to snitch on any colleagues that continue to follow such policies.
Driving the news: In a series of form letters sent to government departments Wednesday, President Trump's acting agency chiefs threatened "adverse consequences" for anyone still doing work related to DEI initiatives in defiance of a Trump executive order.
- The letters followed an order from the new administration directing agencies to close their DEI offices and place those staffers on paid leave by 5pm ET Wednesday, in advance of being laid off.
The big picture: DEI guidelines — which in one way or another have been part of the U.S. government's hiring practices for six decades to try to ensure equality and counter generations of racial bias — were targeted by Trump during the presidential campaign.
- Trump and many Republicans maintain that DEI programs lower hiring standards and promote bias against whites, among other things.
Zoom in: The snitch letters sent to employees of the departments of Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs, NASA and other agencies. The letters told employees they have 10 days to report anyone continuing to do DEI work.
- The letters asks people to consider recent "contract description or personnel position" changes that may be referring to DEI work.
- "We are aware of efforts by some in government to disguise these programs by using coded or imprecise language," the letters to DHS and VA staffers say.
- "These programs divided Americans by race, wasted taxpayer dollars, and resulted in shameful discrimination," the letters said.
Catch up quick: Besides signing an executive order rolling back DEI programs, Trump put a freeze on federal hiring and is moving to strip thousands of civil servants of their employment protections.
- The new administration also is leaning into loyalty tests. Roughly 160 National Security Council career officials have been sidelined amid loyalty screenings.
