Trump Signs Executive Order Dismantling DEI Initiatives in Federal Agencies

On January 21, President Trump signed the Executive Order (EO), Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity. The EO makes bold claims that the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts of past administrations violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964 through adopting “dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences” that have hindered opportunity for certain groups. This EO has resulted in a massive scale back of DEI initiatives across the federal agencies and the optional scale back of DEI initiatives across U.S. businesses.

The directive requires federal agencies to place all federal DEI staff on paid leave with the intent of being laid off. DEI webpages on federal agency websites were taken down and bias trainings indefinitely suspended. DEI research has also been affected, with researchers across the agencies having their funding frozen by the Trump Administration; however, with the pending lawsuits against these actions, some funding is reportedly available again. [WN1] The National Science Foundation (NSF) has created a website detailing their responses to the EOs, including a frequently asked questions page that details the dates of each action taken.

For more information on the importance of DEI initiatives, refer to COSSA’s Headlines & Deep Dive on Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion in Science and read our Why Social Science? Because it Sheds Light on Representation in the STEM Workforce.

A list of notable Trump Executive Orders can be found here. Stay tuned to COSSA’s continued coverage on the Trump Administration and relevant policy to the social and behavioral science community.