Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Removes DEI From the Foreign Service

TLDR

This “fact” sheet and referenced memorandum mischaracterizes State Department DEI initiatives as “radical” and “discriminatory” without evidence they violated merit principles. It falsely frames DEIA as a “loyalty test” when it was one of many promotion factors alongside traditional metrics. The document creates a false dichotomy between merit and diversity, ignores historical underrepresentation documented by the GAO, makes unsupported claims about “divisive policies,” wrongly suggests illegal quotas were used, and provides no evidence that DEIA compromised diplomatic personnel quality.

This “fact sheet” about the memorandum on Foreign Service hiring and promotion contains several misleading claims and mischaracterizations.

It frames Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives as “radical” and “discriminatory” without evidence that these programs violated merit-based hiring principles. In reality, the State Department’s DEIA initiatives were designed to address historical underrepresentation in the Foreign Service while maintaining merit standards.

The characterization of DEI as a “loyalty test” misrepresents how DEIA considerations functioned in performance evaluations. The Core Precept on DEIA was one of several factors considered in promotions, alongside traditional metrics like leadership, management skills, and job performance.

The quote attributed to Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley is presented without context. The State Department’s DEIA requirements asked employees to document efforts to create inclusive workplaces, not to demonstrate ideological conformity. Foreign Service Officers were evaluated on their ability to work effectively with diverse teams and stakeholders - skills relevant to diplomatic work.

The fact sheet fails to acknowledge that the Foreign Service has historically struggled with diversity issues. A 2020 Government Accountability Office report found that racial and ethnic minorities remained underrepresented in the Foreign Service, particularly at senior levels, despite decades of efforts to increase diversity.

The document presents a false dichotomy between merit and diversity initiatives. Research in organizational psychology has consistently shown that diverse teams often perform better and that unconscious bias can prevent the most qualified candidates from being selected without structured processes to mitigate such bias.

The claim that the previous administration embedded “divisive and discriminatory policies” into “every part” of the State Department is hyperbolic and unsupported. The DEIA Strategic Plan focused on recruitment, retention, and workplace culture improvements - standard organizational development practices used across public and private sectors.

The fact sheet suggests that DEI initiatives involved “discriminatory quotas,” but the State Department’s DEIA Strategic Plan did not establish hiring quotas based on protected characteristics, which would be illegal under federal law. Instead, it focused on expanding recruitment outreach and addressing barriers to advancement.

The document also implies that DEI initiatives compromised the quality of diplomatic personnel, but provides no evidence that DEIA considerations resulted in less qualified individuals being hired or promoted within the Foreign Service.