EO 14151: Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing

Executive Orders

TLDR

This executive order mandates federal agencies eliminate all diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) programs within 60 days, prohibits DEIA considerations in employment and contracts, requires reporting of all DEIA spending since 2021, and faces potential legal challenges due to conflicts with existing laws and regulations.

Executive Order 14151 seeks to dismantle diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives across federal agencies, citing alleged discrimination and resource waste. Below is a breakdown of its key components and an analysis of potential inconsistencies:

Core Directives

  • Termination of DEIA Programs: Requires all federal agencies to eliminate DEIA offices, positions, training, and performance metrics within 60 days.
  • Reporting Requirements: Agencies must inventory DEIA-related expenditures, contracts, and grants since January 2021, including potential relabeling attempts.
  • Personnel Policy Changes: Prohibits consideration of DEIA factors in federal employment reviews, contracts, or grants.
  • Operational Impact Assessmentd*: Mandates cost-benefit analysis of previous DEIA initiatives and recommendations for policy alignment.

Key Claims vs. Reality Checks

  1. CLAIM: DEIA initiatives constitute “illegal discrimination” CONTEXT: Civil rights laws permit narrowly tailored diversity measures (Grutter v. Bollinger). DEIA training is generally lawful unless explicitly requiring unlawful conduct.

  2. CLAIM: Environmental justice programs fall under prohibited “equity” initiatives CONTEXT: Multiple statutes (e.g., Civil Rights Act Title VI, NEPA) require agencies to address disproportionate environmental impacts on protected classes.

  3. CLAIM: DEIA factors in performance reviews inherently violate equal protection CONTEXT: Merit system principles (5 U.S.C. § 2301) allow considering inclusive leadership competencies without requiring racial preferences.

  4. CLAIM: Equity Action Plans demonstrated “immense public waste” CONTEXT: No evidence cited. GAO reports show typical DEIA program costs at <0.1% of agency budgets.

Implementation Challenges

  1. Legal Conflicts:

    • Termination of environmental justice programs could violate Executive Order 14008 (Tackling Climate Crisis) and EPA statutory mandates.
    • Contract/grant modifications may breach existing agreements, exposing agencies to breach-of-contract suits.

  2. Workforce Management:

    • Immediate elimination of DEIA roles conflicts with 5 U.S.C. § 1302 requirements for personnel management systems addressing underrepresentation.

  3. Reporting Timelines:

    • 60-day reporting window for multi-year contract/grant audits appears logistically unfeasible, risking incomplete or inaccurate disclosures.

Structural Observations

  • Oversight Mechanism: Creates monthly White House meetings to monitor compliance, centralizing civil rights policy decisions.
  • Enforcement Leverage: Directs OMB to use budgetary authority to compel agency compliance, a tactic previously used in immigration policy battles.

This order reflects a philosophical rejection of identity-conscious policymaking rather than solely addressing specific legal violations. Implementation would likely face immediate court challenges under the Administrative Procedure Act for arbitrary capriciousness and violation of statutory nondiscrimination mandates.

ACTIONS

  • 2025-02-14: The U.S. Department of Education issued a “Dear Colleague” letter on February 14, 2025 that reaffirms discrimination based on race, color, or national origin is illegal in educational institutions receiving federal funding, citing the 2023 SFFA v. Harvard decision as framework for evaluating race-based decisions. The letter prohibits use of race in admissions, financial aid, housing, programming, hiring, and other institutional activities, while banning the use of proxies or indirect means to achieve racial balancing. Educational institutions are required to ensure policy compliance, stop using race-based proxies, and cease using third parties to circumvent prohibitions. The Department warns of potential federal funding loss for non-compliance and indicates enforcement will begin within 14 days of issuance.
  • 2025-01-29: the Government submitted a Notice that the OMB had rescinded the challenged memo.
  • 2025-01-28: Judge Loren AliKhan of the District Court for the District of Columbia issued a temporary restraining order against the OMB policy to allow arguments from the plaintiffs and the government.
  • 2025-01-27: Citing this order the OMB orderd a pause on all grant, loan and financial assistance. (b0c025ff-full.pdf in repo memo archive.)

REFERENCES

  • File supplementary-files/omb-department-target-list.csv (originally compiled by the New York Times) contains a list of over 2,600 agency programs under OMB scrutiny
  • File: supplementary-files/2025-01-28-omb-qanda-regarding-memorandum-m-25-13.md Q&A sheet for this executive order

LITIGATION

  • 2025-02-15: National Council of Nonprofits v. Office of Management and Budget - Four nonprofit organizations have filed suit claiming the order is arbitrary, exceeds OMB’s authority, and violates First Amendment rights by conditioning funding on political viewpoints.
  • 2025-01-28: New York et al v. Donald J. Trump et al - This lawsuit, filed by 23 states and the District of Columbia, seeks to block a January 27, 2025 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directive that orders an immediate pause on “all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance” while agencies review their programs for consistency with new executive orders. The states argue this directive is illegal, unconstitutional, and will cause immediate devastating harm by freezing billions in critical federal funding that states rely on for healthcare, education, law enforcement, infrastructure, and other essential services. The suit claims the directive violates the Administrative Procedure Act, separation of powers, Spending Clause, and other constitutional provisions by unilaterally withholding congressionally appropriated funds without authority.
  • 2025-01-28: 1:25-cv-00322-JDB - A federal court granted a temporary restraining order requiring CDC, FDA, and HHS to restore health-related webpages and datasets that were removed on January 31, 2025 in response to a Trump executive order, finding that medical providers face irreparable harm from loss of critical clinical resources.

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1.

Purpose and Policy.

The Biden Administration forced illegal and immoral discrimination programs, going by the name “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI), into virtually all aspects of the Federal Government, in areas ranging from airline safety to the military. This was a concerted effort stemming from President Biden’s first day in office, when he issued Executive Order 13985, “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.”

Pursuant to Executive Order 13985 and follow-on orders, nearly every Federal agency and entity submitted “Equity Action Plans” to detail the ways that they have furthered DEIs infiltration of the Federal Government. The public release of these plans demonstrated immense public waste and shameful discrimination. That ends today. Americans deserve a government committed to serving every person with equal dignity and respect, and to expending precious taxpayer resources only on making America great.

Sec. 2.

Implementation.

(a) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), assisted by the Attorney General and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), shall coordinate the termination of all discriminatory programs, including illegal DEI and “diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility” (DEIA) mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities in the Federal Government, under whatever name they appear. To carry out this directive, the Director of OPM, with the assistance of the Attorney General as requested, shall review and revise, as appropriate, all existing Federal employment practices, union contracts, and training policies or programs to comply with this order. Federal employment practices, including Federal employee performance reviews, shall reward individual initiative, skills, performance, and hard work and shall not under any circumstances consider DEI or DEIA factors, goals, policies, mandates, or requirements.

(b) Each agency, department, or commission head, in consultation with the Attorney General, the Director of OMB, and the Director of OPM, as appropriate, shall take the following actions within sixty days of this order:

(i) terminate, to the maximum extent allowed by law, all DEI, DEIA, and “environmental justice” offices and positions (including but not limited to “Chief Diversity Officer” positions); all “equity action plans,” “equity” actions, initiatives, or programs, “equity-related” grants or contracts; and all DEI or DEIA performance requirements for employees, contractors, or grantees.

(ii) provide the Director of the OMB with a list of all:

(A) agency or department DEI, DEIA, or “environmental justice” positions, committees, programs, services, activities, budgets, and expenditures in existence on November 4, 2024, and an assessment of whether these positions, committees, programs, services, activities, budgets, and expenditures have been misleadingly relabeled in an attempt to preserve their pre-November 4, 2024 function;

(B) Federal contractors who have provided DEI training or DEI training materials to agency or department employees; and

© Federal grantees who received Federal funding to provide or advance DEI, DEIA, or “environmental justice” programs, services, or activities since January 20, 2021.

(iii) direct the deputy agency or department head to:

(A) assess the operational impact (e.g., the number of new DEI hires) and cost of the prior administration’s DEI, DEIA, and “environmental justice” programs and policies; and

(B) recommend actions, such as Congressional notifications under 28 U.S.C. 530D, to align agency or department programs, activities, policies, regulations, guidance, employment practices, enforcement activities, contracts (including set-asides), grants, consent orders, and litigating positions with the policy of equal dignity and respect identified in section 1 of this order. The agency or department head and the Director of OMB shall jointly ensure that the deputy agency or department head has the authority and resources needed to carry out this directive.

© To inform and advise the President, so that he may formulate appropriate and effective civil-rights policies for the Executive Branch, the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy shall convene a monthly meeting attended by the Director of OMB, the Director of OPM, and each deputy agency or department head to:

(i) hear reports on the prevalence and the economic and social costs of DEI, DEIA, and “environmental justice” in agency or department programs, activities, policies, regulations, guidance, employment practices, enforcement activities, contracts (including set-asides), grants, consent orders, and litigating positions;

(ii) discuss any barriers to measures to comply with this order; and

(iii) monitor and track agency and department progress and identify potential areas for additional Presidential or legislative action to advance the policy of equal dignity and respect.

Sec. 3.

Severability.

If any provision of this order, or the application of any provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder of this order and the application of its provisions to any other persons or circumstances shall not be affected.

Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

© This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

THE WHITE HOUSE,

January 20, 2025.