Government agencies to end observation of ‘DEI’ holidays

On Donald Trump’s first day in office, he signed an executive order titled “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing.”

Pete Hegseth backed the plan and stated numerous times that he wanted to remove DEI from the Pentagon if and when he was confirmed.

The Order

Trump’s order gave a two-month window to evaluate programs in place and remove them from their respective departments.

In part, the order stated, “Each agency, department, or commission head, in consultation with the Attorney General, the Director of OMB, and the Director of OPM, as appropriate, shall take the following actions within sixty days of this order.”

The first point under that section stated, “Terminate, to the maximum extent allowed by law, all DEI, DEIA, and ‘environmental justice’ offices and positions (including but not limited to ‘Chief Diversity Officer’ positions); all ‘equity action plans,’ ‘equity’ actions, initiatives, or programs, ‘equity-related’ grants or contracts; and all DEI or DEIA performance requirements for employees, contractors, or grantees.”

Other parts of the order discuss holding back federal funding for agencies who refuse to respect the order, which has Democrats up in arms.

Hegseth Back the Play

Hegseth immediately backed Trump’s play, announcing on January 26, 2025, that he would end DEI within the Department of Defense.

Hegseth posted on X, "The President’s guidance (lawful orders) is clear: No more DEI at Dept. of Defense.”

His post also showed a handwritten note by Hegseth, which stated, "The Pentagon will comply, immediately. No exceptions, name-changes, or delays.”

Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) supported the move, also posting, "The best way to stop discriminating against people on the basis of race or gender is to stop discriminating against people on the basis of race or gender. Let DEI die."

Programs Ended

On Friday, January 1, 2025, the decision was made to end certain observations that were deemed to have been DEI-related, such as MLK Jr. Day, Black History Month, and Women’s History Month. In all, 11 observances were being targeted.

The Pentagon was among the first agencies to fall in line, stating, “Efforts to divide the force — to put one group ahead of another — erode camaraderie and threaten mission execution.”

A former CIA official responded regarding the programs, stating that the DEI programs in place “really hurt our ability to do our job. The official added, “We’re going to strangle off talent pipelines that were already narrow to begin with. And that’s going to deprive our intelligence community and our national security establishment of critical knowledge, talent, skills, language … that might be valuable in trying to get somebody into a foreign country.”

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) called for all references to “gender ideology” to be removed across the federal government. I am all for all hiring practices that call for checking boxes over the most qualified people, but I would caution against removing some of the observances, such as MLK Jr. Day, which Trump himself has already hinted will remain, as will Black History Month. I would, however, expect observances regarding any form of sexual ideology, such as Pride Month, to be history. Let’s give this a little bit to rest and see how it pans out before raising any alarms… as something tells me this is really much ado about nothing.