DEI: Federal DEI employees placed on leave as Trump’s administration dismantles programs [Video]

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — One of President Trump’s first executive orders targets federal employees working on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs and initiatives.

“Our country is going to be based on merit again,” said President Trump.

A memo from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management ordered leaders to place all staff working in DEI roles on paid leave by 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

In President Trump’s order, he says that DEI policies violate Federal civil rights laws and “undermine the traditional American values of hard work, excellence, and individual achievement in favor of an unlawful, corrosive, and pernicious identity-based spoils system.”

“I think this DEI leave is just another example of kind of cruelty and pettiness,” said Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine.

“The best way to stop discriminating against people on the basis of race or gender is to stop discriminating against people on the basis of race and gender,” said Louisiana Sen. John …