The President of the United States is actively promoting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has directed all federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) staff to be furloughed and eventually fired, as the Republican leader aims to take action aimed at Addressing systemic racism.

An Office of Personnel Management memo first reported by CBS News directs agencies to place DEI office workers on paid leave by 5 p.m. Wednesday (22:00 GMT), with the same deadline All DEI-focused public web pages are now closed.

Agencies must also cancel any DEI-related training and terminate any related contracts, and if federal staff suspect that any DEI-related program has been renamed to obscure its purpose, they should report it to the office within 10 days or face “ “Adverse consequences”.

As of Thursday, federal agencies have been directed to compile lists of federal DEI offices and staff through Election Day in November. They are also expected to develop a plan to implement “reduction operations” for these federal workers by next Friday.

The moves follow an executive order signed by Trump his first day in office This week ordered the complete repeal of the federal government’s DEI program, which could involve everything from anti-bias training to funding for minority farmers and homeowners.

Trump has called the programs “discriminatory” and insisted on a return to what he calls strictly “merit-based” hiring.

But civil rights advocates argue that DEI programs are necessary to address long-standing inequities and structural racism.

Basil Smikle Jr., a political strategist and policy adviser, said he is troubled by the Trump administration’s claims that diversity programs “diminish the importance of individual merit, ability, hard work and determination” , because it suggests that women and people of color lack merit or qualifications.

“This is a clear effort to hinder, if not diminish, the political and economic power of people of color and women,” Smicle said.

“What it does is open the door to more cronyism,” he said.

Trump’s anti-DEI campaign begins with unfinished business from his first administration.

One of Trump’s final actions during his first term in office from 2017-2021 was an executive order banning federal agency contractors and recipients of federal funds from anti-bias training that addressed concepts such as systemic racism.

His successor, former President Joe Biden, a Democrat, immediately rescinded the order on his first day in office and issued two (now rescinded) executive orders outlining a plan Promote DEI The entire federal government.

While many of the changes may take months or even years to implement, Trump’s new anti-DEI agenda is more aggressive than his first agenda and takes place in a more pliant environment in the corporate world.

Well-known companies from Walmart to Facebook have reduce or end Some of the diversity they’re doing in response to Trump’s election and conservative-backed lawsuits against them.