Staff Reports
In a move that has conservatives smiling from ear to ear, the Trump administration’s Office of Personnel Management has just announced the closure of all federal offices dedicated to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. This delightful slice of news hit desks the day before the deadline, leaving government officials scrambling like cats on a hot tin roof as they deal with the fallout. Seriously, who knew that a simple memo could send so many bureaucrats into fits of existential crisis?
Charles Ezell, acting director of OPM, delivered the news in a letter that was less like a friendly notice and more like a corporate edict from central casting. He instructed federal agency heads to shutter their diversity offices by 5:00 p.m. the very next day—talk about a tight deadline. Agency heads are now tasked with notifying employees about the imminent demise of these offices and must ask if anyone has been crafty enough to conceal these programs under fancy jargon. Apparently, federal workers were having fun cooking up buzzwords. Who knew HR was secretly a wordsmithing competition?
🚨BREAKING: All federal employees in DEI roles must be placed on paid leave by 5 PM Wednesday, as the Trump administration has ordered those offices and programs to be shut down. pic.twitter.com/V8t1jHyX7Z
— Bark (@barkmeta) January 22, 2025
The letter didn’t just stop at giving the boot to DEI offices; it sent the entire staff of these programs packing, placing them on paid administrative leave faster than you can say “cancellation.” As part of this bureaucratic housecleaning, agency heads must eliminate any public-facing materials, such as websites and social media accounts related to DEI. Talk about a major digital detox! Any scheduled “training” sessions on diversity, equity, and inclusion are now a thing of the past. Those relationships with DEI contractors? Time to say goodbye as well. Presumably, some of those contractors are now wondering how to turn their resumes into something more relevant, like doing actual work.
This sudden shake-up follows President Trump’s recent executive order, which boldly asserted that the Biden administration had embedded what he called “illegal and immoral discrimination programs” throughout federal operations. The president made it clear that no corner of federal service is safe from his cleaning spree. From military hiring practices to airline safety, Trump is on a mission to rid these agencies of any hint of “discrimination,” which—look no further than the DEI programs—was metastasizing like a bad case of mildew.
The swift action mandates that by lunchtime on January 23, all heads of agencies need to present a comprehensive list of those who worked in these now-defunct offices and outline their connections with DEI contractors. It’s like a government employee roll call, and nobody wants to be caught at the bottom of that list. By January 31, they’ll need a detailed plan on how to downsize their diversity workshops, like a company that has decided to stop being “woke” and start being “working.”
As White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the authenticity of this memo, the message was clear: Trump has delivered yet another victory for a government focused on merit rather than identity politics. No longer will job applicants have to navigate through a minefield of quotas and benchmarks based on race and gender. The message is loud and proud—this administration is doubling down on the belief that hiring should be about skills, not skin color. With each action, conservatives nationwide are raising a toast; it seems the swamp is getting a much-needed purge, and they couldn’t be happier.
