Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing
Executive Order
•
January 29, 2025
•
Document 2025-01953
Summary
On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 14151, effectively ending diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs within the federal government, which he labeled as discriminatory and wasteful. This order mandates the termination of DEI-related offices, positions, and initiatives across federal agencies, emphasizing a return to policies that prioritize individual merit and performance. The action could lead to significant legal and political debates, as it dismantles initiatives aimed at promoting workplace diversity and may face challenges from those who view DEI efforts as essential for fostering equality and representation in government.
Full Text
[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 18 (Wednesday, January 29, 2025)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 8339-8341]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-01953]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 18 / Wednesday, January 29, 2025 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 8339]]
Executive Order 14151 of January 20, 2025
Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI
Programs and Preferencing
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, it is hereby ordered:
Section 1. Purpose and Policy. The Biden Administration
forced illegal and immoral discrimination programs,
going by the name ``diversity, equity, and inclusion''
(DEI), into virtually all aspects of the Federal
Government, in areas ranging from airline safety to the
military. This was a concerted effort stemming from
President Biden's first day in office, when he issued
Executive Order 13985, ``Advancing Racial Equity and
Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal
Government.''
Pursuant to Executive Order 13985 and follow-on orders,
nearly every Federal agency and entity submitted
``Equity Action Plans'' to detail the ways that they
have furthered DEIs infiltration of the Federal
Government. The public release of these plans
demonstrated immense public waste and shameful
discrimination. That ends today. Americans deserve a
government committed to serving every person with equal
dignity and respect, and to expending precious taxpayer
resources only on making America great.
Sec. 2. Implementation. (a) The Director of the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB), assisted by the
Attorney General and the Director of the Office of
Personnel Management (OPM), shall coordinate the
termination of all discriminatory programs, including
illegal DEI and ``diversity, equity, inclusion, and
accessibility'' (DEIA) mandates, policies, programs,
preferences, and activities in the Federal Government,
under whatever name they appear. To carry out this
directive, the Director of OPM, with the assistance of
the Attorney General as requested, shall review and
revise, as appropriate, all existing Federal employment
practices, union contracts, and training policies or
programs to comply with this order. Federal employment
practices, including Federal employee performance
reviews, shall reward individual initiative, skills,
performance, and hard work and shall not under any
circumstances consider DEI or DEIA factors, goals,
policies, mandates, or requirements.
(b) Each agency, department, or commission head, in
consultation with the Attorney General, the Director of
OMB, and the Director of OPM, as appropriate, shall
take the following actions within sixty days of this
order:
(i) terminate, to the maximum extent allowed by law, all DEI, DEIA, and
``environmental justice'' offices and positions (including but not limited
to ``Chief Diversity Officer'' positions); all ``equity action plans,''
``equity'' actions, initiatives, or programs, ``equity-related'' grants or
contracts; and all DEI or DEIA performance requirements for employees,
contractors, or grantees.
(ii) provide the Director of the OMB with a list of all:
(A) agency or department DEI, DEIA, or ``environmental justice''
positions, committees, programs, services, activities, budgets, and
expenditures in existence on November 4, 2024, and an assessment of whether
these positions, committees, programs, services, activities, budgets, and
expenditures have been misleadingly relabeled in an attempt to preserve
their pre-November 4, 2024 function;
[[Page 8340]]
(B) Federal contractors who have provided DEI training or DEI training
materials to agency or department employees; and
(C) Federal grantees who received Federal funding to provide or advance
DEI, DEIA, or ``environmental justice'' programs, services, or activities
since January 20, 2021.
(iii) direct the deputy agency or department head to:
(A) assess the operational impact (e.g., the number of new DEI hires) and
cost of the prior administration's DEI, DEIA, and ``environmental justice''
programs and policies; and
(B) recommend actions, such as Congressional notifications under 28
U.S.C. 530D, to align agency or department programs, activities, policies,
regulations, guidance, employment practices, enforcement activities,
contracts (including set-asides), grants, consent orders, and litigating
positions with the policy of equal dignity and respect identified in
section 1 of this order. The agency or department head and the Director of
OMB shall jointly ensure that the deputy agency or department head has the
authority and resources needed to carry out this directive.
(c) To inform and advise the President, so that he
may formulate appropriate and effective civil-rights
policies for the Executive Branch, the Assistant to the
President for Domestic Policy shall convene a monthly
meeting attended by the Director of OMB, the Director
of OPM, and each deputy agency or department head to:
(i) hear reports on the prevalence and the economic and social costs of
DEI, DEIA, and ``environmental justice'' in agency or department programs,
activities, policies, regulations, guidance, employment practices,
enforcement activities, contracts (including set-asides), grants, consent
orders, and litigating positions;
(ii) discuss any barriers to measures to comply with this order; and
(iii) monitor and track agency and department progress and identify
potential areas for additional Presidential or legislative action to
advance the policy of equal dignity and respect.
Sec. 3. Severability. If any provision of this order,
or the application of any provision to any person or
circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder of
this order and the application of its provisions to any
other persons or circumstances shall not be affected.
Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
[[Page 8341]]
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
January 20, 2025.
[FR Doc. 2025-01953
Filed 1-28-25; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P