Two federal agencies seemed to attempt to keep their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and staff onboard amid President Donald Trump’s crackdown.
Trump signed a flurry of executive orders cracking down on DEI on Tuesday, including a ban on diversity programs in the federal government. Just days later, the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Bureau (ATF) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) changed the names of their DEI-related programs and staff positions, while seemingly retaining personnel and policy.
“Individual dignity, hard work, and excellence are fundamental to American greatness,” the White House said in a statement Wednesday. “This Executive Order reaffirms these values by ending the Biden-Harris Administration’s anti-constitutional and deeply demeaning ‘equity’ mandates, terminating DEI, and protecting civil rights.”
The ATF changed Chief Diversity Officer Lisa Boykin’s official title to simply “senior executive” under the office of the director as late as Thursday, according to archives of the agency’s official leadership page. Boykin was appointed as the agency’s first chief diversity officer in 2021, previously serving in a human resources capacity for the agency since 2016, according to Leadership Connect.
The ATF did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s questions on whether Boykin would continue her previous activities despite the title change.
“ATF has always been a corrupt, tyrannical agency that is unworthy of American tax dollars,” Aidan Johnston, director of federal affairs for Gun Owners of America, told the DCNF. “This week, its blatant disregard for the rule of law was on full display when they attempted to hide their ‘Chief Diversity Officer’ under a new title in direct opposition to Trump’s executive order.”
CBP renamed their “Diversity and Inclusion” webpage to “Special Emphasis Programs” (SEP) at some point between Jan. 21 and the early morning of Jan. 23, according to a web archives. The agency has since taken down this webpage, instead redirecting to a section on equal opportunity employment.
SEPs were aimed at creating a “diverse, inclusive and engaged workforce” and working to “support underrepresented minority communities, according to the screenshot.
CBP referred the DCNF’s questions as to why the webpage was taken down, or if the program is still offered, to the White House. The White House did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
“Trump’s executive orders end racial preferences in the federal government, in federal contracting, and grant-writing,” GianCarlo Canaparo, senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, previously told the DCNF. “If that was all Trump did, those would be some of the most significant presidential actions for race neutrality in recent memory. But Trump has also directed the full enforcement power of the federal government against private discriminators.”
President Joe Biden issued an executive order on his first day in 2021 establishing a “whole-of-government equity agenda,” directing every agency to conduct an equity assessment. He followed up in June that year, issuing another executive order requiring agencies to implement DEI training programs for employees, informing them about systemic racism and DEI principles in hiring and promotion practices.
DEI has long been criticized for forgoing advancement based on merit in favor of factoring in immutable factors to decision making, such as race and gender.
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