The White House’s Office of Personnel Management notified heads of agencies and departments that they must begin taking steps to close all Diversity, Equity and Inclusion offices by the end of the day Wednesday and place government workers in those offices on paid leave,
The Trump administration on Tuesday ordered all federal employees working on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives to be placed on paid leave as government agencies work to shutter DEI offices.
Good government experts warn that President Trump’s revival of Schedule F, inserting new criteria into the hiring process and demand for a list of all feds who are still on their probationary period portend a mass firing of career workers as the new administration seeks to reshape the federal bureaucracy.
The classification, which makes it easier to fire federal workers, is also the subject of congressional legislation.
The executive order brings back "Schedule F," that allows many federal employees to be reclassified as political appointees, making it easier to remove workers deemed insufficiently loyal to his administration.
President Trump reinstated a revised executive order from his first term that would make it easier for the White House to remove policy-facing federal employees — including Senior Executive Service employees.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order ending remote work for federal employees and orders them to return to the office full time, five days a week.
OPM said technological advances necessitated the changes, but some stakeholders argued the modifications still don’t reflect current governmental needs.
Executive orders are written directives issued by a president that manage the operations of the U.S. government. They have the force of law similar to regulations issued by federal agencies, according to the American Bar Association.
A hiring freeze could have detrimental impacts on the federal workforce in Philadelphia, local union leaders say.
Federal employees in DEI roles will be placed on leave by 5 p.m. Wednesday, according to an OPM memo, following President Trump's executive order.