Trump ramps up campaign to dismantle DEI from corporate America

President Donald Trump ramped up his assault against diversity, equity and inclusion policies to corporate America, targeting federal contractors and publicly traded companies for practices he labeled "dangerous, demeaning, and immoral."

An executive order issued late Tuesday expanded the president's directive on banning DEI policies from the government, urging all federal agencies to identify as many as nine civil compliance investigations in the private sector, including publicly-listed companies. The order directs agencies to encourage corporations and other groups to end "illegal DEI discrimination and preferences."

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The administration's move to limit diversity preferences in federal contracting could force major U.S. contractors like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and General Dynamics, to certify that any diversity-focused initiatives they may have are in compliance with federal law. 

President Trump also revoked a 1965 order signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to protect workers against discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin. The order Tuesday stated that DEI policies aimed at boosting underrepresented groups can violate federal civil-rights laws protecting against discrimination based on those factors.

This is one of the arguments activists have used to challenge corporate and other DEI programs since the Supreme Court banned affirmative action in college admissions in 2023. A slew of U.S. businesses including McDonald's, Meta Platforms, and Walmart, moved to modify or scrap diversity programs in recent months as Trump campaigned on a promise to rid the country of DEI practices.

Linda Friedman, a founding partner at Stowell & Friedman, a law firm specializing in discrimination cases, said that often companies' DEI policies are a euphemism for remedial work for exclusion and mistreatment of minority groups.

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Even when work that is called DEI is not aimed a fixing a company's past misdeeds, she said, "it does not favor any group but broadens the pool." 

Trump asked federal agencies to also examine DEI practices at large nonprofit organizations and foundations, as well as universities with endowments exceeding $1 billion for potential civil compliance investigations. 

Amid an intensifying backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion policies, Trump has wasted little time in keeping his promise to his supporters. He signed executive orders in the first hours of his new term as president to end DEI efforts in the federal government, terminate diversity programs, and remove related offices and positions.

He also rescinded more than a dozen DEI-related executive orders from former President Joe Biden's administration, including one that sought to overturn Trump's own ban on the federal government and its contractors from training employees on racial bias.

Federal employees in DEI roles will be placed on paid leave Wednesday as the offices related to those programs are being ordered to shut down after President Donald Trump's executive orders, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed in a post on X. It's unclear how many people that would impact.

Under a memorandum from the Office of Personnel Management, agencies were also instructed to cancel DEI trainings and terminate related contracts, and pull down websites and social media accounts for federal DEI-focused offices. Agencies would be given a week to submit a written plan for removing those employees from the federal workforce. 

The memorandum also said "we are aware of efforts by some in government to disguise these programs by using coded or imprecise language," and to report those cases or face "adverse consequences."