‘Bureaucrats are Still Hiding’: How Is ATF Implementing Trump’s Executive Order on DEI?

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives asserts that it is in full compliance with President Donald Trump’s executive order to suspend federal DEI policies and place chief diversity officers on paid leave despite what a Second Amendment group noted. 

The ATF listed Lisa T. Boykin as a chief diversity officer for the agency on Jan. 20, according to a screenshot that was posted on social media by Gun Owners of America. 

Boykin is now listed on the ATF’s website as a senior executive in the Office of the Director on the agency’s leadership page. 

The Daily Signal accessed the archive of the agency’s website on the Wayback Machine website, where Boykin was also listed as the chief diversity officer on Jan. 16.

“ATF is fully implementing OPM’s guidance on DEIA, including the January 24, 2025, directive to phase out DEIA offices and positions wherever legally permissible. Any claims suggesting otherwise would be mistaken,” Johnny Michael, a public affairs specialist with the ATF, told The Daily Signal. 

The Office of Personnel Management has encouraged employees to report instances of federal agencies attempting to circumvent Trump’s order and impose diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility under a different name. An email, [email protected], is for reporting.

Gun Owners of America noted that it’s a positive step that former President Joe Biden’s appointee to run the ATF is gone, but stressed the defiance of one Trump policy is evidence that the ATF is a rogue agency. 

“While GOA is glad to see that anti-gun ATF Director Steve Dettelbach was forced to resign, it is clear that anti-freedom bureaucrats are still hiding within the agency—whether it is diversity director Lisa Boykin or all the agents responsible for inventing and enforcing Biden’s unconstitutional gun control,” Aidan Johnston, director of federal affairs for Gun Owners of America, told The Daily Signal. 

“GOA is ready to hold this weaponized agency accountable for infringing on our Second Amendment rights, and ultimately we hope to see the ATF abolished,” Johnston added. 

Trump signed two executive orders pertaining to DEIA, formerly simply DEI, on his first day in office. One was titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” The order repealed executive actions by Biden to promote DEI policies in the government and with federal contractors. It also directs agencies to close their diversity, equity, and inclusion offices; to put DEI officials on paid leave; and bans attempts to disguise DEI by other names. 

Trump also signed an order titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” directing the Office of Management and Budget to coordinate with the attorney general and director of the Office of Personnel Management to ensure that all these programs, as well as all “chief diversity officers,” are phased out. Another memorandum directed the OPM and federal agencies to phase out DEI offices and positions when legally permissible without the need for legislative action.

The post ‘Bureaucrats are Still Hiding’: How Is ATF Implementing Trump’s Executive Order on DEI? appeared first on The Daily Signal.