Science Agencies Disband DEI Initiatives in Response to Trump Orders

President Donald Trump quickly began dismantling federal diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in his first days in office, raising questions about the future of government-led efforts to promote diversity in STEM — some of which were directly authorized and funded by Congress.

On the first day of his second presidential term, Trump revoked multiple Biden-era executive orders related to DEI initiatives and mandated the termination of all offices, positions, grants, and contracts related to DEI or equity initiatives to the “maximum extent allowed by law.”

A related Office of Personnel Management memo, published on Jan. 21, directed agencies to close their DEI offices and place DEI staff on administrative leave by 5 p.m. on Jan. 22, as well as cancel any DEI-related trainings and terminate any DEI-related contractors.  Agencies were additionally directed to submit a written plan by the end of this month to permanently reduce their DEI staff. OPM also urged agency staff to report instances where DEI programs or positions were renamed to “disguise” them, warning that failure to do so “may result in adverse consequences.”

In response to these orders, multiple science agencies scrubbed mention of DEI offices and staff from their websites. The website for NASA’s Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity was taken down this week, for example, with many related pages showing 404 error codes.

A NASA spokesperson declined to share how many DEI staff at the agency have been placed on administrative leave at this time. NASA’s website no longer displays its chief diversity officer, Elaine Ho, though she still is listed as head of the Office of STEM Engagement — a role to which she was appointed last month. The appointment announcement said Ho would remain the head of the diversity office while the agency searched for a replacement.

The National Science Foundation also removed multiple DEI references from its website, including a 2022 announcement that Charles Barber had been appointed to the role of chief diversity officer. Barber left NSF last year and the chief diversity officer role was vacant when Trump took office for a second time. Notably, Congress created this role through the CHIPS and Science Act, which states the agency must fill the position.

Asked about the impact of Trump’s anti-DEI orders at NSF, a spokesperson said the agency “looks forward to working with the new administration to ensure long-term U.S. competitiveness in all fields of science and engineering for our economic and national security.” They added NSF is “reviewing all the executive orders carefully and implementing them accordingly.”

The Department of Energy, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology did not respond to questions about the impact of the Trump administration’s DEI orders prior to the publication of this article.

Beyond the freeze of DEI personnel, science agencies have begun to remove previously established DEI requirements from research grants. For instance, NASA announced it is ending the requirement for some grant applications to contain “inclusion plans,” which describe how the project would ensure all participants can “do their best work, advance their career, and feel welcomed, valued, connected, engaged, and supported to reach their full potential.” A similar inclusion plan requirement instituted at the DOE Office of Science during the Biden administration may also be on the chopping block as the webpage describing the policy is now offline.

House Democrats have decried Trump’s anti-DEI actions, with House Science Committee Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) describing his efforts as “just plain wrong” in an online statement. Lofgren noted that the committee’s efforts to “create a STEM workforce that more accurately represents the rich diversity and intellectual capacity of our nation” in recent years had received strong bipartisan support.

“Trump has made hypocrites of the Republicans who joined us in spearheading diversity and equity efforts,” Lofgren said, adding “we cannot lead in science and innovation if we do not allow everyone to reach for a seat at the table.”

DEI efforts outside government also targeted

Trump’s push to purge DEI principles extends to the private sector. On his second day in office, he issued an executive order that directs the attorney general to develop an enforcement strategy to “encourage the private sector to end illegal discrimination and preferences, including DEI.”

The order calls for agencies to “identify up to nine potential civil compliance investigations of publicly traded corporations, large non-profit corporations or associations, foundations with assets of $500 million or more, state and local bar and medical associations, and institutions of higher education with endowments over $1 billion.” It also directs the attorney general and Department of Education to issue guidance to universities on how to comply with the 2023 Supreme Court decision that outlaws affirmative action at most higher education institutions.

A press release accompanying the order accuses companies and universities of using DEI principles “as an excuse for biased and unlawful employment practices and illegal admissions practices.”

Trump’s chief of staff for policy, Stephen Miller, has previously sued universities for considering diversity in hiring decisions through his advocacy group America First Legal. The group also issued FOIA requests to science agencies last year seeking information about their diversity programs.

Trump’s Jan. 21 order also revokes a policy first put in place by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965 requiring federal contractors to take affirmative action to provide equal employment opportunities. Trump’s order says that contractors “shall not consider race, color, sex, sexual preference, religion, or national origin in ways that violate the nation’s civil rights laws,” while preserving contracting preferences for veterans.