State Department Warns Staff Against Imposing Stealth DEI After Trump Executive Order

The U.S. State Department moved swiftly Wednesday to implement President Donald Trump’s executive order doing away with diversity, equity, and inclusion.

An internal memo obtained by The Daily Signal spells out the department’s plans, which also included the removal of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion webpage.

“No department personnel or chief of mission shall as part of carrying out their job duties promote discriminatory ideology,” the State Department memo states.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, confirmed Monday by the U.S. Senate, wasted little time sending clear guidance to State Department employees. In a press statement Wednesday, Rubio said the department would scrutinize every policy and program by asking if it makes America safer, stronger, and more prosperous.

Rubio referenced Trump’s executive order, promising to “reward performance and merit.”

“This order will be faithfully executed and observed in both letter and spirit,” Rubio said. “Relatedly, we must return to the basics of diplomacy by eliminating our focus on political and cultural causes that are divisive at home and deeply unpopular abroad.”

The memo obtained by The Daily Signal spells out the department’s plans in more detail.

“Any Department of State personnel that perform functions that are tied to advancing or promoting DEI will immediately perform other substantive duties in their bureau consistent with this directive, or be detailed or reassigned as appropriate,” the memo states.

The memo also says, “When personnel are reassigned out of DEI positions, those positions … shall be eliminated as expeditiously as possible.”

Trump’s anti-DEI directive sent shockwaves through Washington. The executive order, “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” reversed several Biden administration policies that promoted initiatives that focuses on race, gender, or other characteristics.

A follow-up memo from Office of Personnel Management Acting Director Charles Ezell gave all federal departments until 5 p.m. Wednesday to send notice to employees about the closure of DEI office and elimination of websites and social media accounts. The OPM notice put all DEI employees on paid administrative leave, effective immediately.

The State Department memo warned staff not to promote DEI policies under a different name. 

“Personnel who fail to comply, including by conducting DEI work under a new name or guise the performance of their job duties may be subject to discipline initiated by the Bureau of Global Talent Management, which may include counseling or discipline on the basis of insubordination,” the memo says. 

It continues: “Any provision in the Foreign Affairs Manual or Foreign Affairs Handbook that promotes discriminatory ideology is suspended until it can be reissued in a form that supports merit and equal opportunity.”

In his press statement Wednesday, Rubio vowed to “stop censorship and suppression of information.” The department’s Global Engagement Center came under fire during Biden’s presidency for its efforts to censor “disinformation” about COVID-19.

“The State Department I lead will support and defend Americans’ rights to free speech, terminating any programs that in any way lead to censoring the American people,” Rubio said. “While we will combat genuine enemy propaganda, we will do so only with the fundamental truth that America is a great and just country whose people are generous and whose leaders now prioritize Americans’ core interests while respecting the rights and interests of other nations.”

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