USDA officials sent an email to all agency staff today announcing they are taking steps to close “all DEIA [Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility] offices and end “all DEIA-related contracts” as a result of Trump’s executive order directing all agencies to dismantle President Biden’s equity directives.
The email, reviewed by Civil Eats, also said officials are aware of “efforts by some in government to disguise these programs by using coded or imprecise language.” In addition, all employees are now responsible for reporting any knowledge they have of changes to personnel or contract language made since November 5, 2024, “to obscure the connection between the contract and DEIA or similar ideologies” within 10 days. Failure to report the information within 10 days “may result in adverse consequences.”
Under Biden, former Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack aspired (at Biden’s behest) to infuse equity efforts across the department. He hired the agency’s first senior advisor for racial justice and equity, launched an Equity Commission, worked on heirs property issues for Black landowners, and directed many grant funds to disadvantaged communities through Biden’s Justice40 plan. As a result, it’s unclear exactly which of those efforts may now be ended because they meet Trump’s definition of “DEIA”—and which employees may be let go. (Link to this post)
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