The Trump administration directed its agencies to not hire individuals based on their race, sex or religion while it works to overhaul the federal government through major cuts and restructuring.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) outlined the “Merit Hiring Plan” in a memo sent to heads and acting heads of departments and agencies on Thursday, which directed them to not use statistics on race, sex, ethnicity, national origin or “the broader concept of ‘underrepresentation’” to hire or recruit.
It calls on agencies to stop publishing and distributing information on the composition of the workforce based on race, sex, color, religion or national origin and to end all programs related to hiring that “discriminate” against groups.
OPM says disciplinary action must be taken if a hiring manager engages in any “unlawful race preferential discrimination.”
The plan calls for the end to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in hiring, calling them “illegal, demeaning and immoral.”
“OPM is committed to creating a federal workforce that reflects the highest standards of merit and service,” acting director Charles Ezell said in a statement. “This plan ensures we hire based on talent, dedication, and constitutional principles, delivering a government that works effectively for all Americans.”
Another goal of the plan is an effort to “prevent the hiring of individuals who are unwilling to defend the Constitution or to faithfully serve the Executive Branch.”
It prioritizes the hiring of those who are committed to improving government efficiency and decreasing the time-to-hire to under 80 days and “integrate modern technology to support the recruitment and selection process.”
OPM aims to reform the federal workforce recruitment process “to ensure that only the most talented, capable and patriotic Americans are hired” and to implement skilled-based hiring over “unnecessary degree requirements.”
OPM also announced that on June 30, agency’s human capital officers will send reports to OPM and the Office of Management and Budget on recruitment and eliminating such practices the administration deems discriminatory.
The Trump administration has been focused on eliminating DEI in the federal government and has threatened to remove federal funding and grants for private institutions if they don’t do away with diversity efforts. The administration pushed Harvard University to end DEI programs and to alter its hiring and admissions processes and has cut billions of dollars in federal funding when the university pushed back.
