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Trump signs executive orders to place diversity employees on administration leave

US President Donald Trump has ordered all federal staff in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) roles to be placed on paid leave by Wednesday 7pm, local time.

In a new memo from the Office of Personnel Management, the Trump administration said employees will be put on paid administration leave as the agencies prepare to close all DEI-related offices and programs.

All offices’ websites and social media accounts will also be removed.

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“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,” the executive order said.

The memo also said a plan must be submitted by January 31 explaining how employees will be dismissed.

It comes after President Trump signed an executive order to end “radical and wasteful” DEI programs in federal agencies.

“President Trump campaigned on ending the scourge of DEI from our federal government and returning America to a merit-based society where people are hired based on their skills, not for the colour of their skin,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

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“This is another win for Americans of all races, religions, and creeds. Promises made, promises kept.”

Another executive order was signed by President Trump that overturned longstanding equity policies within the federal government.

It included one first signed by Lyndon B Johnson during the civil rights era that established equal opportunity requirements for contractors.

The White House accused “critical and influential institutions of American society”, including “major corporations, financial institutions, the medical industry, large commercial airlines, law enforcement agencies and institutions of higher education” of adopting “dangerous, demeaning and immoral race- and sex-based preferences under the guise of so-called ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’” in the order.

Since assuming office, President Trump signed just shy of 50 executive orders after promising he would sign up to 100 on his first day as President.

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