President Trump on Wednesday revoked a 60-year-old executive order banning discrimination in hiring practices in the federal government, his latest action aimed at gutting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
His order, which the White House called “the most important federal civil rights measure in decades,” revokes Executive Order 11246 signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965. It prohibited discriminatory practices in hiring and employment in government contracting and asserted the government’s commitment to affirmative action.
Mr. Trump’s order says that his action “protects the civil rights of all Americans and expands individual opportunity.”
Among its provisions is the elimination of any references to diversity, equity and inclusion in federal contracting and spending.
The government would instead focus on “speed and efficiency,” according to the order. It aims to reduce cost in federal contracting, and requires contractors who do business with the government to follow its interpretation of civil rights laws. The order says the office overseeing contracts would be prohibited from “pushing contractors to balance their work force based on race, sex, gender identity, sexual preference or religion.”
The measure was a sweeping example of Mr. Trump’s declaration that he would return the country to a “merit-based” and “colorblind” society when he took office. The administration has moved swiftly to eradicate all programs and practices in the federal government aimed at addressing systemic inequities.
On his first day in office, Mr. Trump signed an executive order that effectively eliminated all diversity and inclusion initiatives that had been ordered by former President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
In carrying out the order, the Office of Personnel Management ordered agency heads to place all D.E.I.-related personnel on administrative leave by the end of the day on Wednesday and devise plans to lay them off by the end of the month.
Mr. Trump also issued another order on Tuesday directing the Federal Aviation Administration to halt hiring practices that sought diversity, equity and inclusion, asserting that such practices have endangered passengers on airlines.
The Trump administration alleged that under the Biden administration, the agency “betrayed its mission by elevating dangerous discrimination over excellence,” pointing to a deactivated website containing the agencies’ mission statement of hiring a more diverse employee pool.
“Our diversity and inclusion vision is to create opportunities that garner the talents of a diverse, multilevel work force that contributes to the continuous development of superior innovation, technological advancements and excellence in global aviation,” the website stated.
In the order, Mr. Trump said that Biden administration “sought to specifically recruit and hire individuals with serious infirmities that could impact the execution of their essential life-saving duties.” It did not cite any examples.
The ordered added that D.E.I. practices also penalize “hard-working Americans who want to serve in the F.A.A. but are unable to do so, as they lack a requisite disability or skin color.”
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