Federal DEI employees targeted and new Hegseth allegations: Morning Rundown
Jan. 22, 2025, 5:09 PM GMT+5
Donald Trump calls for the firing of all federal DEI employees. California officials look to rebuild quickly after the L.A. wildfires as experts advocate for more thoughtful designs. And the rise of Trump family cryptocurrencies turns heads.
Here’s what to know today.
Trump pushes forward with DEI crackdown as he faces backlash against Jan. 6 pardons
President Donald Trump’s second day in office included an order that all federal employees in diversity, equity and inclusion roles go on paid leave, as well as criticism of Day 1 orders to pardon Jan 6. Defendants and his efforts to revoke birthright citizenship. Follow our live blog for the latest updates as his administration takes shape.
→ Diversity, equity and inclusion: The Trump administration sent a memo yesterday ordering all federal employees in diversity, equity and inclusion roles to be placed on paid leave by this afternoon and asking agencies to submit a plan by the end of the month for dismissing those employees. The memo from the Office of Personnel Management also directed agencies to prepare to close all DEI-related offices and programs and to remove all websites and social media accounts for such offices. It was not clear how many employees would be affected.
The move comes a day after Trump signed an executive order ending “radical and wasteful” DEI programs in federal agencies. Yesterday, Trump signed another executive order that targeted diverse hiring practices at the Federal Aviation Administration. Read more about Trump’s orders to bring an end to DEI programs.
→ Jan. 6 pardons: Trump defended his pardons of Jan. 6 criminal defendants, claiming they served time that “they should not have served” and that they were “treated unbelievably poorly.” Among the roughly 1,500 defendants are those who prosecutors deemed “the most violent” rioters.
But some Republican senators pushed back against the pardons, especially those granted to rioters who committed violence against law enforcement officials. And many people in the Justice Department, as well as legal scholars, called the pardons an unprecedented and dangerous use of the executive power that makes a mockery of years of work by FBI agents, prosecutors and federal judges, some of whom the president appointed. Read more about the reaction.
→ Immigration: The raids that were expected to target major sanctuary cities immediately after Trump took office have so far failed to materialize. Still, his administration has begun setting the groundwork for further immigration action. A big rule change allows ICE to arrest undocumented people at or near so-called sensitive locations, including houses of worship, schools and hospitals. Read more about how Trump’s plans for mass deportations are playing out.