Connect with us

Politics

DoD eliminated most DEI jobs well before Trump took office

Published

5 months ago

on

While the Pentagon has aggressively pushed to eliminate all diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and positions following President Donald Trump’s executive orders, most DEI roles were eliminated well before the president took office.

In early 2024, the Government Accountability Office kicked off a review of the Defense Department’s DEI workforce in response to a mandate in the Senate report accompanying the fiscal 2024 defense policy bill. 

At the same time, the Defense Department was implementing a separate provision from the same law requiring it to reduce all DEI positions to GS-10 or below by summer 2025. The watchdog focused its review on how DoD was responding to that provision.

When the GAO began its audit, it identified 188 DEI-related positions across the department. In response to the 2024 defense policy bill, the watchdog found that the Pentagon eliminated 32 of those roles and restructured another 115 positions. It left the Pentagon with only 41 DEI roles — 25 held by military personnel and 16 by civilians.

“DoD retained those positions because they said the legislative provision that required them to reduce its workforce did not apply to those 41 and that was either because they were a GS-10 or below or their primary duties were not focused on DEI-related activities,” Cathleen Berrick, GAO’s managing director, told Federal News Network. 

The Pentagon ultimately disbanded the remaining 41 DEI positions that survived the cuts following Trump’s executive orders aimed at curbing DEI efforts across the federal government.

Federal law requires agencies to maintain offices that handle equal employment opportunity complaints. A key component of EEO compliance also includes providing regular training to employees and supervisors on anti-harassment policies, civil rights protections, and the complaint process. Berrick said of the 41 disbanded roles, many were reassigned to EEO roles, while others moved into training-related positions that were not explicitly tied to DEI.

“Just to give an example, there was a DEI training manager position that was modified to become a leadership, education and training advisor. There was really a variety, but we did see quite a few reassigned to the EEO type positions, and then a number of others assigned to training,” Berrick said.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, however, has recently begun to target Military Equal Opportunity (MEO) and Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) programs, ordering a department-wide review of their policies and processes.  The real title of the policy, Hegseth said, is “No More Walking On Eggshells.”

“Too often at the Defense Department, there are complaints made for certain reasons that can’t be verified that end people’s career. We need to reform that process completely so commanders can be commanders,” Hegseth said on social media platform X.

DEI-related contracts

As part of its review, the GAO also examined how the Defense Department used contractors to support the development and implementation of DEI activities across the department.

To identify relevant contracts, GAO relied on the Federal Procurement Data System, the government’s repository of all federal contracts. Berrick said they worked with GAO contracting experts and relied on interviews with DoD officials who oversaw DEI programs to develop a robust keyword search.

That search identified just 44 DEI-related contracts — most of them were related to DEI training. 

“We don’t know the exact status of all the 44 at the time we did our work. DoD did tell us that they weren’t going to exercise options on a number of those contracts. And we do know that after we followed up, after the new executive orders were issued in January, they were in the process of taking additional steps to stop all of their DEI activities to include contracts,” Berrick said.

While Hegseth’s recent contract terminations included consulting and IT services, most cost-cutting efforts have focused on eliminating DEI and climate change-related programs.

If you would like to contact this reporter about recent changes in the federal government, please email anastasia.obis@federalnewsnetwork.com or reach out on Signal at (301) 830-2747

The post DoD eliminated most DEI jobs well before Trump took office first appeared on Federal News Network.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Politics

President Trump Taps Dr. Ben Carson for New Role — A HUGE Win for America First Agenda

Published

26 minutes ago

on

September 25, 2025

By

Dr. Ben Carson is the newest member of the Trump administration.

On Wednesday, former Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Ben Carson, was sworn in as the national adviser for nutrition, health, and housing at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins shared that Carson’s role will be to oversee Trump’s new Big Beautiful Bill law, which aims to ensure Americans’ quality of life, from nutrition to stable housing.

After being sworn in, Carson shared, “Today, too many Americans are suffering from the effects of poor nutrition. Through common-sense policymaking, we have an opportunity to give our most vulnerable families the tools they need to flourish.”

Table of Contents

WATCH:

Per USDA:

Today, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced that Dr. Benjamin S. Carson, Sr., M.D., was sworn in as the National Advisor for Nutrition, Health, and Housing at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

“There is no one more qualified than Dr. Carson to advise on policies that improve Americans’ everyday quality of life, from nutrition to healthcare quality to ensuring families have access to safe and stable housing,” said Secretary Rollins.

“With six in ten Americans living with at least one chronic disease, and rural communities facing unique challenges with respect to adequate housing, Dr. Carson’s insight and experience is critical. Dr. Carson will be crucial to implementing the rural health investment provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill and advise on America First polices related to nutrition, health, and housing.

“As the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the first Trump Administration, Dr. Carson worked to expand opportunity and strengthen communities, and we are honored to welcome him to the second Trump Administration to help lead our efforts here at USDA to Make America Healthy Again and ensure rural America continues to prosper.”

“Today, too many Americans are suffering from the effects of poor nutrition. Through common-sense policymaking, we have an opportunity to give our most vulnerable families the tools they need to flourish,” said Dr. Ben Carson. “I am honored to work with Secretary Rollins on these important initiatives to help fulfill President Trump’s vision for a healthier, stronger America.”

On Sunday, Dr. Carson was one of the many speakers at the memorial service of the late TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk.

During the memorial service, Carson highlighted that Kirk was shot at 12:24 p.m. and then continued to share the Bible verse John 12:24, which reads, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.”

WATCH:

The post President Trump Taps Dr. Ben Carson for New Role — A HUGE Win for America First Agenda appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Continue Reading

Politics

LEAKED MEMO: Deep State Prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia Claim There Isn’t Enough Evidence to Convict Comey Amid Reports of Imminent Indictment

Published

32 minutes ago

on

September 25, 2025

By

On Wednesday evening, disgruntled officials in the Eastern District of Virginia leaked contents of a memo explaining why charges should not be brought against James Comey.

As reported earlier, former FBI Director James Comey is expected to be indicted in the Eastern District of Virginia in the next few days.

Comey will reportedly be charged for lying to Congress in a 2020 testimony about whether he authorized leaks to the media.

Officials in the Eastern District of Virginia are still fighting to stop Comey from being charged after Trump fired US Attorney Erik Siebert.

President Trump last week fired Erik Siebert as the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia because he refused to bring charges against Letitia James, Comey, Schiff and others.

On Saturday evening, President Trump announced that he had appointed Lindsey Halligan – his personal attorney who defended him against the Mar-a-Lago raid – as US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Now, with just days to go before the statute of limitations runs out to charge Comey for lying during a September 30, 2020 testimony, Lindsey Halligan is reportedly gearing up to indict Comey.

Prosecutors reportedly gave newly sworn-in Halligan a memo defending James Comey and explaining why charges should not brought against the fired FBI Director.

Per MSNBC’s Ken Dilanian:

Two sources familiar with the matter tell me prosecutors in the EDVA US attorney‘s office presented newly sworn US attorney Lindsey Halligan with a memo explaining why charges should not be brought against James Comey, because there isn’t enough evidence to establish probable cause a crime was committed, let alone enough to convince a jury to convict him.

Justice Department guidelines say a case should not be brought unless prosecutors believe it’s more likely than not that they can win a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt.

The post LEAKED MEMO: Deep State Prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia Claim There Isn’t Enough Evidence to Convict Comey Amid Reports of Imminent Indictment appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Continue Reading

Politics

Nearly 8 in 10 Voters Say the United States is in Political Crisis After the Assassination of Charlie Kirk

Published

44 minutes ago

on

September 25, 2025

By

Nearly eight in ten voters believe that the United States is in a political crisis in the wake of the assassination of conservative icon Charlie Kirk.

According to a Quinnipiac University national poll of registered voters released on Wednesday, a massive 93 percent of Democrats, 84 percent of independents, and 60 percent of Republicans said the nation is in a political crisis.

“The Kirk assassination lays bare raw, bipartisan concerns about where the country is headed,” Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy said of the poll results.

Quinnipiac reports:

Seventy-one percent of voters think politically motivated violence in the United States today is a very serious problem, 22 percent think it is a somewhat serious problem, 3 percent think it is a not so serious problem, and 1 percent think it is not a problem at all.

This is a jump from Quinnipiac University’s June 26 poll when 54 percent thought politically motivated violence in the United States today was a very serious problem, 37 percent thought it was a somewhat serious problem, 6 percent thought it was a not so serious problem, and 2 percent thought it was not a problem at all.

Nearly 6 in 10 voters (58 percent) think it will not be possible to lower the temperature on political rhetoric and speech in the United States, while 34 percent think it will be possible.

Over half, 54 percent, of voters believe the US will see increased political violence over the next few years. Another 27 percent said they think it will stay “about the same,” while just 14 percent believe it will ease.

A 53 percent majority also said they are “pessimistic about freedom of speech being protected in the United States.”

Surprisingly, a 53 percent majority also believes the current system of democracy is not working.

“From a perceived assault on freedom of speech to the fragility of the democracy, a shudder of concern and pessimism rattles a broad swath of the electorate. Nearly 80 percent of registered voters feel they are witnessing a political crisis, seven in ten say political violence is a very serious problem, and a majority say this discord won’t go away anytime soon,” Malloy added.

The vast majority, 82 percent, said the way that people discuss politics is contributing to the violence.

“When asked if political discourse is contributing to violence, a rare meeting of the minds…Republicans, Democrats, and independents in equal numbers say yes, it is,” Malloy said.

The survey was conducted from September 18 to 21 among 1,276 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 3.3 percentage points.

The post Nearly 8 in 10 Voters Say the United States is in Political Crisis After the Assassination of Charlie Kirk appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Continue Reading

Trending