Lists were compiled across the federal government of any employee who had ever worked in a post related to
DEI, as well as employees who didn't work in such posts, but who had purportedly taken part in some sort of diversity training, workshop, affinity group (see below), or other initiative. These employees were subsequently purged en masse. An internal
Department of Government Efficiency report obtained by
The Washington Post outlined a three phase process by which DOGE would lead a purge of DEI from the federal government. • In phase one, which took place on January 20, 2025, all DEI related executive orders and initiatives would be rescinded, offices at various federal organizations that served a DEI role would be dissolved and their employees terminated, federal websites would remove all DEI-related material from their websites, and DEI-related contracts would be terminated. • In phase two, which is slated to last from January 21 to February 19, the government would begin purging employees that did not work in a DEI-related role, but who had taken part in DEI in some way that made them "corrupted". • In phase three, scheduled for February 20 to July 19, the DOGE would begin mass-scale firings of any employee in any office or part of the federal government which did not take part in any DEI offices or initiatives, but who was nonetheless determined through unknown criteria to be "DEI-related".
Mass layoffs On February 2, 2025, it was reported that the
Department of Education had put at least 100 employees, only two of whom actually worked in DEI, on administrative leave to await termination. In February 2025, the Trump administration proceeded to compile lists of officers in the
military accused of supporting diversity, and have them subsequently purged. These ranged from officers who had made tweets in support of diversity, to officers whom the administration simply accused of having originally received their jobs for not being white. The
Central Intelligence Agency compiled lists of every employee that was part of an employee affinity group, and later reportedly dismissed these officers and revoked their security clearances. On February 2, 2025, it was reported that the
Office of Personnel Management (OPM) had put several employees, including many who had not worked in DEI but who had previously taken part in a DEI-related initiative, on administrative leave to await termination. Attorney General
Pam Bondi ordered the
Department of Justice to criminally investigate any company with a DEI policy. In April 2025, the Department of Justice terminated a landmark civil rights settlement with the State of
Alabama to address serious health risks posed by
Lowndes County's inadequate sanitation systems. The department claimed that the
Biden-era agreement violated President Trump's proscription of DEI initiatives. The
Internal Revenue Service reportedly deleted any mention of diversity, equity, or inclusion from its procedural handbook.
Milk, who served in the US Navy during the Korean War, was also a gay rights activist and himself a homosexual. The ship was subsequently renamed
USNS Oscar V. Peterson. The
United States Military Academy ordered the shutdown of all student "affinity" groups - student organizations oriented towards racial minorities, women, and/or LGBT people. The
National Cryptologic Museum covered up plaques celebrating women and people of color who had served the NSA, and the
United States Army Women's Museum covered up a poster celebrating the contributions of transgender soldiers. The
Defense Intelligence Agency and the
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency also reportedly dissolved their employee affinity groups, with the former also ceasing all recognition of Martin Luther King Day, Holocaust Remembrance Day,
Black History Month, Pride Month, and other similar civil-rights related holidays. The
National Science Foundation compiled an internal list of words the presence of which in a research paper, grant application, or other relevant documentation, would flag a project and put its funding under review. Words that would initiate a review included "women", "female", "gender", "bipoc", "LGBT", "disability", "hate speech", and "trauma", among others. The
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) imposed restrictions on grant applications to comply with the order barring federal funds for programs focused on DEI or used to "promote gender ideology". In December 2025,
ProPublica reported that after the signing of EO 14151, more than 1000 nonprofits rewrote the mission statements in their tax filings to remove references to DEI efforts. == See also ==