Federal DEI programs ordered terminated

On 20 January 2025 President Donald J. Trump signed Executive Order 14151, “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing.”¹ The order directs federal agencies to terminate “diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA)” offices, end DEI performance requirements for “employees, contractors, or grantees,” and revoke DEI-related federal grant requirements under § 2(b).¹ A same-day companion order, Executive Order 14148, “Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions,” formally rescinded 78 Biden-era actions, including Executive Order 13985 (“Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government,” 20 January 2021) and Executive Order 14035 (“Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce,” 25 June 2021).² A second same-day companion order, Executive Order 14168, “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” directs related agency actions that the implementing OPM guidance also covers.³ Executive Order 14173, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” — signed the next day on 21 January 2025 — is the operational lineage anchor for federal-contractor DEI: § 3(a) of that order revoked Executive Order 11246 of 1965 (the EEO Federal Contractor program) and § 4 directs the Attorney General and the heads of agencies to deter “discrimination, preferences, or mandates” in the private sector.⁴ An Office of Personnel Management memorandum from Acting Director Charles Ezell, titled “Initial Guidance Regarding DEIA Executive Orders” and dated 21 January 2025, set a deadline of 5:00 p.m. EST on 22 January 2025 for agencies to notify DEIA-office staff of paid administrative leave, take down DEIA-related public-facing materials, and begin termination of DEIA-related contracts and grants.⁵

1. Federal DEIA offices are dissolved; affected staff are placed on paid administrative leave under the OPM memo.⁵ Reduction-in-force separations for permanent staff are subject to the 60-day notice requirement of 5 C.F.R. § 351.801, with retention-register and competitive-area mechanics under subparts D–E of the same part.⁶

2. Federal solicitations issued after the order are expected to omit DEI compliance clauses that previously sat in contract and grant terms, subject to subsequent FAR Council and agency guidance.¹ Existing contracts continue on their terms until modification or expiration; new options exercised under those contracts may strip the clauses.

3. Statutory anti-discrimination duties under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a), are unaffected by the order.⁷ The order terminates policy-level DEI preferences, not statutory prohibitions on discrimination.