Ryan FowlerThe Trump administration has directed thousands of federal employees to report any efforts to “disguise” diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives within their agencies, the BBC reports. Employees were warned they could face “adverse consequences” for failing to comply, according to emails seen by the broadcaster.
This directive follows President Donald Trump’s executive orders banning DEI programmes throughout the federal government and placing staff in those roles on paid administrative leave. The BBC reports that the emails, issued by the Office of Personnel Management, instructed agency heads to inform staff by Wednesday evening, including a 10-day deadline for employees to report relevant information to a designated government email address.
The move has sparked unease among federal workers, with some interpreting it as an attempt to intimidate staff and encourage them to report colleagues. An anonymous employee at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) told the BBC: “We’re really freaked out and overwhelmed.”
Emails sent to Treasury Department employees omitted warnings about “adverse consequences,” but still called for the reporting of DEI initiatives, the BBC notes.
The executive orders banning DEI programmes, signed by Trump shortly after taking office, have drawn both praise and criticism. Critics of DEI, including Trump, argue that such initiatives are discriminatory as they consider characteristics like race, gender, and sexual identity. Supporters of the ban, such as the Asian American Coalition for Education, called it a step towards creating a “colour-blind society.”
However, federal employees interviewed by the BBC expressed concerns about the orders’ impact. One HHS employee described the situation as “very calculated chaos,” citing confusion over hiring practices and programme directives. Another worker noted that research grants and hiring processes had been frozen, raising fears about the broader effects of the DEI ban on scientific research and workforce diversity.
The BBC reports that some employees believe DEI programmes have helped create opportunities in fields like health and medicine but remain critical of how “identity politics” have influenced agency operations. Nonetheless, they fear the new orders could lead to job losses and disrupt ongoing work.
The White House has not commented on the emails, the BBC reports. The administration has already enacted several executive orders affecting the federal workforce, including a hiring freeze, a mandate to return to office work, and efforts to reclassify employees to make terminations easier.
As federal employees await further clarity, the BBC reports that many feel uncertain about how the administration’s broad DEI ban will shape future operations. One worker at the Food and Drug Administration told the outlet: “There is a sense of fear about how it’s going to have an impact on our work in general.”
