Trump targets DEI and civil service protections, striking fear in some federal workers

President Donald Trump is targeting federal employees who focus on diversity, equity and inclusion and career policy staffers as he follows through on campaign promises to exert more control over the federal bureaucracy.

President Donald Trump is targeting federal employees who focus on diversity, equity and inclusion and career policy staffers as he follows through on campaign promises to exert more control over the federal bureaucracy. The moves, just days into his new administration, go after programs he’s long attacked and civil servants whom he feels blocked some of his key initiatives in his first term. But they’ve struck fear in federal workers and the unions that represent them, with employees worried about their jobs and their ability to carry out the missions that lured them into public service. One executive order that sent shockwaves through the workforce on Monday calls for creating a category for federal employees involved in policy – known as Schedule F – that would make them easier to fire. Critics argue the measure, which is similar to one he signed in late 2020, is intended to ensure loyalty to the president. That step was followed on Tuesday by the directive to place employees in any federal diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility offices on paid administrative leave, effective immediately, as the Trump administration moves to end such initiatives. Also, the Office of Personnel Management wants a list of any job or contract descriptions that were changed since the November election to hide their DEIA connections. Failure to report these changes could result in “adverse consequences,” according to emails that federal employees received Wednesday. Trump’s other initial measures include requiring staffers to report to the office and asking for a list of employees still in their probationary period, who don’t have the same job protections. The actions have raised the ire of federal workers’ unions, who contend that Trump’s main purpose is to cull the ranks.