For the past four years, the federal government embraced the idea that a more diverse, inclusive workforce would better serve the American people. Now, with the stroke of his pen, President Trump has abruptly reversed course. On Monday, Trump issued an executive order terminating "illegal DEI and 'diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility' (DEIA) mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities in the Federal Government, under whatever name they appear." A second executive order issued Tuesday revokes numerous executive actions of administrations past, including some that had been in effect for decades. One issued by former President Bill Clinton required federal agencies to address environmental justice for low-income and minority populations. Another signed by former President Lyndon B. Johnson required government contractors to adopt non-discriminatory practices in hiring and employment.

Even as Trump's critics decry the moves, federal agencies are getting to work carrying out his vision. On Tuesday, U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) acting director Charles Ezell sent a memo to agency leaders ordering them to place all employees of DEIA offices on paid administrative leave no later than 5 p.m. Wednesday. Agencies were also told to send agency-wide notices "asking employees if they know of any efforts to disguise these programs by using coded or imprecise language." OPM provided a template for these notices that included an email address for reporting such efforts and a warning that failure to do so may result in "adverse consequences." Additionally, agencies were directed to take down websites and social media accounts, cancel trainings and terminate any contractors related to DEIA work. By noon Thursday, agencies are to submit to OPM a complete list of DEIA offices and anyone who was working in those offices as of Nov. 5, 2024, the date of the presidential election. Agencies are required to submit a written plan by Jan. 31 for layoffs of those working in DEIA offices, the memo says.

In a historic decision, the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday effectively ended race-conscious admission programs at colleges and universities across the country. In a decision divided along ideological lines, the six-justice conservative supermajority invalidated admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina. The decision reverses decades of precedent upheld over the years by narrow Supreme Court majorities that included Republican-appointed justices. It ends the ability of colleges and universities — public and private — to do what most say they still need to do: consider race as one of many factors in deciding which of the qualified applicants is to be admitted.

The reaction to Thursday's decision may be consternation in some quarters, but public opinion on affirmative action is not like abortion, a subject on which virtually every poll shows the public completely at odds with the court. Public opinion on affirmative actions is more nuanced and more mixed. Polls on the subject conflict: some show upwards of 60% approval for affirmative action programs, and others show less than 50% support. Indeed, in liberal California, for instance, 57% of voters in 2020 cast their ballots against reinstating affirmative action in the state's public colleges and universities.

The group has gained notoriety by filing lawsuits against universities like Harvard, alleging that they discriminate against Asian American applicants in favor of other racial groups during admissions.

The Trump administration is directing the heads of federal agencies to "take action to terminate" staffers of DEI offices, according to a memo from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management issued Friday night. The White House purge of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) programs and workers, begun Monday, is happening at lightning speed. "[E]ach agency, department, or commission head shall take action to terminate, to the maximum extent allowed by law, all DEI, DEIA, and 'environmental justice' offices and positions within sixty days," the memo reads. The memo updates a directive sent earlier this week that told agencies to submit written plans for executing a "reduction-in-force," i.e., layoffs, no later than January 31. But the new memo says agencies should start issuing these reduction-in-force notices now. It's not clear how many DEI staffers there are within the federal government, which employs millions of workers.

In many cases it may not be possible to simply fire these workers; processes for doing so will vary. The memo Friday night follows a directive issued earlier this week that ordered department and agency heads to close DEI offices — some of which are tasked with addressing accessibility issues for disabled people. Agencies were ordered to put staff on paid leave, as well as take down all DEI websites, social accounts, and "outward facing media." They were also told to withdraw any plans in the equity and inclusion space and cancel all trainings and contracts. The directive included an email template that called on government employees to snitch on colleagues that were continuing these practices. The barrage of orders on DEI is creating an atmosphere of fear and anxiety for both the workers who were put on leave and other federal employees, NBC reported this week.

The Trump administration argues that these programs are actually discriminatory for giving preference to people based on their racial, ethnic or gender identity. What they're saying: "Ultimately, these attacks on DEIA are just a smokescreen for firing civil servants, undermining the apolitical civil service, and turning the federal government into an army of yes-men loyal only to the president, not the Constitution," said a statement from the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal employee union, from earlier in the week when the first directive was issued. The crackdown is moving in parallel to a retreat from these policies in corporate America. On Friday, Target said it was pulling back on DEI. A few companies are defending their practices, though, including Costco and JPMorgan Chase. Trump's orders targeted a number of policies from the Biden administration, which sought to cast a wider net in hiring. Those efforts did increase the share of federal employees with disabilities in particular.