The Trump administration has sent directives to federal employees ordering them to snitch on each other to reveal if they are involved in diversity programs.
In an email from the Office of Personnel Management the administration said, “We are aware of efforts by some in government to disguise these programs by using coded or imprecise language.” The email further warns federal employees that if they do not turn in their fellow workers they could face “adverse consequences.”
The email does not detail the consequences for disobeying the order.
The directive is another in a series of actions from Donald Trump meant to attack the gains of the Civil Rights Movement under the guise of curtailing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Republicans have falsely alleged that DEI programs prioritize mediocrity over merit, a long-standing boogeyman that has been used to attack reform.
Trump issued a flurry of executive orders in the same vein over his first few days in office which seek to remove DEI programs and employees within the federal government. Trump even rescinded diversity efforts at the Federal Aviation Administration and falsely blamed a 2023 database error that caused flight problems on diversity programs.
In one particularly troubling order, Trump rescinded a 1965 executive order from former President Lyndon Johnson which was key in preventing racial segregation at companies working with the federal government.
The administration also ordered a halt to civil rights cases at the Department of Justice with a letter directing the supervisor of the agency’s civil rights decision not to file “any new complaints, motions to intervene, agreed-upon remands, amicus briefs, or statements of interest.”
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But when he was campaigning in 2024, Trump couldn’t even explain what DEI is—despite attacking it over and over again. During his interview with the National Association of Black Journalists Trump was asked to defend claims from Trump supporters that Vice President Kamala Harris was a “DEI hire.”
“How do you define DEI?” Trump asked.
The snitching directive and other associated anti-DEI actions are a manifestation of the plans laid out in the right-wing Project 2025, which argues for replacing the nonpartisan federal civil service with conservative loyalists. Trump claimed that the plan was not associated with him, but his presidency is carrying out its directives.
Federal workers are also facing other pressures. The Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency has been interrogating federal workers to uncover their purported political stances, while Trump has initiated orders that seek to undo long-held employee protections for those workers.
Since Trump took office, federal workers are now facing unprecedented attacks in addition to their existing burdens of serving the public.
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