DOGE vs. DEI: Republicans’ promise to purge government diversity initiatives could be wide-ranging, and hard to pull off

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the two billionaires tasked with slashing government waste, are expected to recommend an agency-wide purge of spending on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives, three sources familiar with their plans tell CNN.

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the two billionaires tasked with slashing government waste, are expected to recommend an agency-wide purge of spending on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives, three sources familiar with their plans told CNN. That could include eliminating entire divisions involving DEI in agencies across the government, such as the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity, Diversity & Inclusion at the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Office of Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity Policy at the Department of Defense. “Anything having to do with DEI will be gone,” said one of the people familiar with the plans for President-elect Donald Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency, adding that Republicans in all branches of the incoming government are on board. “Everyone is committed to working together and rooting it out.” Musk and Ramaswamy have made no secret of their disdain for DEI. Musk called it “just another word for racism” earlier this year. “An efficient government has no place for DEI bloat. Time to DOGE it,” Ramaswamy posted last month. Among DOGE’s first recommendations for action could be rescinding Biden-era executive orders related to DEI, according to one of the people familiar with DOGE discussions.