By the end of Wednesday, heads of departments and agencies must start taking action to close all diversity, equity, and inclusion offices and put government employees working in those offices on paid leave, according to a notification from the federal Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

President Donald Trump signed dozens of executive actions on his first day in office, including two that could impact the IRS—and your tax refund.

Learn about the history of Executive Order 11246 following President Trump’s executive order to eliminate DEI programs and remove DEI employees within a week.

A government memo instructs federal agencies to put diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) staff on paid leave by 17:00 local time on Wednesday.

The classification, which makes it easier to fire federal workers, is also the subject of congressional legislation.

Trump’s anti-DEI directive sent shockwaves through Washington. The executive order, “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” reversed several Biden administration policies that promoted initiatives that focuses on race, gender, or other characteristics.

Good government experts warn that President Trump’s revival of Schedule F, inserting new criteria into the hiring process and demand for a list of all feds who are still on their probationary period portend a mass firing of career workers as the new administration seeks to reshape the federal bureaucracy.

The Office of Personnel Management tells agency and department heads they must close all DEIA offices by the end of Wednesday and put government workers in those offices on paid leave.

The Forest Service employed more than 5,600 employees in California in 2024, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

The Trump administration is directing agencies to move to close federal diversity, equity and inclusion offices and place DEI staff on paid leave by 5pm Wednesday ET ahead of being laid off. The big picture: The memorandum that the Office of Personnel Management sent to federal agencies on Tuesday follows President Trump's signing of an executive order a day earlier to dismantle DEI initiatives within the federal government.

The Trump administration has launched a sweeping directive targeting diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEI) programs within the federal government. On Wednesday, federal employees received emails warning that they could face "adverse consequences" if they fail to report colleagues engaged in DEI-related work.