More winning coming down the pike, as President Trump started dismantling the federal government’s entire DEI apparatus.
The Trump administration took a sledgehammer to progressive diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives Tuesday night with executive orders designed to root racialist ideology out of the federal government and American institutions at large.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order overturning President Lyndon Johnson’s 1965 executive order creating race-based hiring requirements for federal contractors. Paired with that is a memo from the office of personnel management placing all DEI employees on leave and shutting down DEI programs and offices.
LBJ’s executive order was clearly unconstitutional and counter to the founder’s vision of individual equality under the law, but was thought at the time to be a necessary expedient to overcome decade of Jim Crow discrimination against black Americans. But there are few things more permanent than a “temporary” government program. Rescinding LBJ’s racist edict was long overdue, but expect the withered vine of Never-Trumpers to scream about “mah sacred norms and practices!” (At least I’m assuming that’s what they’re screeching. There’s too much real news to bother hunting for their reflexive pearl-clutching reactions. If a tree grifts in a forest when no one is around, does it make a sound?)
“President Trump campaigned on ending the scourge of DEI from our federal government and returning America to a merit based society where people are hired based on their skills, not for the color of their skin.
I seem to remember hearing a quote like this before.
This is another win for Americans of all races, religions, and creeds. Promises made, promises kept,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
In addition to overturning affirmative action for contractors, Trump’s executive order declares DEI illegal and advises corporations and federally funded universities to end all illegal discrimination, with DEI falling under that umbrella.
Likewise, Trump took action to rid the Federal Aviation Administration of DEI hiring practices and return the agency to a merit-based system. Trump instructed the Secretary of Transportation and FAA administrator to end preferential hiring protocols for certain demographic criteria and revoke DEI programming inside the agency.
On Monday, Trump’s first day in office, he signed executive orders directing agencies to terminate DEI programs and review employment practices to root out DEI in all its forms. He also repealed the Biden administration’s “equity” executive order for the federal workforce and other executive actions meant to advance “equity” for minority groups.
Live by executive order, die by executive order. Die, DEI.
Trump’s executive actions have the potential to significantly reshape federal civil rights law and could spell the end of DEI across American institutions. Large corporations, elite universities, news organizations, and many other powerful facets of American business and culture adopted DEI during the summer 2020 Black Lives Matter riots and racial reckoning.
It was a grossly stupid and irresponsible decision then and it’s completely indefensible now.
Over the past few years, conservatives have waged a legal and political battle against DEI that started gaining traction after the Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that race-based college admissions programs violated the 14th Amendment. Conservative groups have filed a flurry of lawsuits alleging that corporate DEI programs violate anti-discrimination laws by explicitly creating programs for people with certain racial and gender characteristics.
And numerous courts have frequently and correctly ruled against such discriminatory behavior.
Numerous red states have also passed legislation outlawing DEI from universities and other public institutions.
More broadly, conservatives believe DEI programs obsessively focus on people’s immutable characteristics and assign blame to certain groups, rather than prioritizing individual character and meritocracy. DEI practitioners and proponents assert that it is necessary to make up for historical injustices to support people from marginalized backgrounds and train others to hold their same views.
Prior to Trump’s resounding electoral victory this past November, several large corporations including John Deere, Tractor Supply, Ford, and Lowe’s walked back DEI initiatives following conservative pressure. The slow corporate retreat from DEI continues after the election, with McDonald’s and Meta being among the companies to abandon DEI ahead of Trump’s inauguration.
Hopefully Trump’s executive order will spark the end of DEI’s slow retreat and begin its swift and complete rout.