Fight against DEI dominates start of Donald Trump's second term

In the packed agenda President Trump has raced to push through, few things stand out more at the end of his second week than his war on DEI, the diversity programs he eliminated through executive action and blamed for the midair aviation crash that killed 67 people.

- Lindsay Ellis & Alex Leary

"I have common sense and unfortunately a lot of people don't," Trump said the morning after the crash, when pressed on why he linked the tragedy over the Potomac River with diversity hiring initiatives. His comments summed up his approach to DEI, which he sees as a clear-cut symbol of liberalism run amok.

Trump came into office promising to transform the economy and challenge the global order—and he moved swiftly on that agenda as well. But his focus on DEI reflects his desire to put at the center of his presidency the culture wars that animate his conservative base.

His efforts represent the culmination of years of GOP focus on diversity initiatives, a blockbuster Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action, shifting public opinion and the influence of powerful Trump allies, including billionaire Elon Musk.

"DEI is just another word for racism," Musk wrote last year on X, his social-media platform.

Since he took office 11 days ago, Trump has ordered federal agencies to terminate diversity programs and contracts.

Trump administration officials have set up a tip line to report staff who aren't complying with the administration's directives and push them out of the workforce.

The Office of Personnel Management this week mandated that bathrooms in government agencies must be designated by biological sex, not gender identity.

Agency leaders have been told that affinity groups for employees—like those focused on Black or LGBTQ staff—cannot meet during work hours.

Government employees have been ordered to remove gender pronouns from their email signatures.

"People should not be hired based on their disabilities, based on their skin color, their gender, their race. None of that matters," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday.