As he does every three months, Sibusiso traveled on Wednesday morning to a clinic in the capital of Eswatini, a tiny southern African nation, to get a refill of the H.I.V. medication he needs to save his life. When he arrived, the door was locked and about 20 other patients stood outside, baffled that the … Read more
President Trump on Monday moved toward pushing openly transgender people out of the military, directed the Pentagon to end diversity programs and ordered the reinstatement of many service members dismissed for refusing the coronavirus vaccine as he sought to reshape America’s armed forces. The directives, contained in a batch of executive orders, advanced what Mr. … Read more
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says he believes the U.S. military has been weakened by diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and has vowed to restore “the warrior ethos” to the armed forces. In one of his first directives to Pentagon employees, Mr. Hegseth sent a short, handwritten note on his official letterhead making this priority clear. … Read more
Pete Hegseth, the newly confirmed defense secretary, has pledged to restore “the warrior ethos” to the U.S. military, which he believes has been weakened by its diversity. His view that the military has diminished standards in welcoming women and racial minorities to the armed forces might run into resistance as he takes the reins at … Read more
An Education Department employee was attending a funeral this week when she got the call: She was being placed on administrative leave because she works on projects that connect Black students, among others, to federal government programs. A disabled veteran employed at the Department of Veterans Affairs grew emotional when he heard about the rescinding … Read more
President Trump’s blunt message after a whirlwind week of executive orders and presidential proclamations may boil down to this: Take me at my word. During four years in political exile after his first term, Mr. Trump vowed to radically reshape American life, culture and politics if he got another chance. His first week has demonstrated … Read more
President Trump had barely reacquainted himself with the Oval Office after his second inauguration when he began shredding the D.E.I. initiatives of the Biden administration, fulfilling a cause célèbre for conservatives that had helped power his political comeback. On his second day back in power, Mr. Trump ordered that agency heads place those officials who … Read more
After anti-Israel protests over the war in Gaza upended college campuses last year, many universities set up task forces to examine whether antisemitism was on the rise. The answer was yes. But one of the factors they identified was perhaps surprising: diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Reports from Stanford University, Columbia University and the University … Read more
President Trump on Wednesday revoked a 60-year-old executive order banning discrimination in hiring practices in the federal government, his latest action aimed at gutting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. His order, which the White House called “the most important federal civil rights measure in decades,” revokes Executive Order 11246 signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson … Read more
The Trump administration on Tuesday ordered that officials tasked with overseeing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts across federal agencies be placed on administrative leave and that all such initiatives taking place across the government be brought to a halt. In a memo from the Office of Personnel Management, the heads of departments and agencies were … Read more