Washington, DC: The Trump administration has issued a new directive instructing federal agencies to cease using data on race, sex, ethnicity, or national origin in their hiring processes. This move marks the administration’s latest step in dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives across government operations.
The guidance, distributed on Thursday to human resources officials at federal agencies, elaborates on an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in January. The order seeks to re-center federal hiring practices on merit-based assessments.
“All hiring and promotion decisions must be based solely on merit, qualifications and job-related criteria — not race, sex, color, religion, or national origin,” the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) stated in the memo.
The OPM also instructed HR leaders to immediately stop using demographic statistics and the concept of “underrepresentation” when making recruitment or hiring decisions. The directive includes a prohibition on the dissemination of such demographic data.
This latest action underscores the Trump administration’s broader effort to curtail long-standing DEI programs. These initiatives, established over decades, aimed to correct systemic imbalances and provide opportunities to historically marginalized groups. However, Trump and his supporters have often described such policies as “anti-merit” and discriminatory toward white individuals and men.
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Supporters of DEI programs and civil rights experts argue that collecting and analyzing racial and gender data is essential for identifying disparities and preventing discrimination within hiring practices — both in the public and private sectors.
The memo also criticized federal hiring practices for prioritizing candidates from elite academic institutions over those with practical skills and a demonstrated commitment to American values.
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It emphasized a broader approach to recruitment, encouraging agencies to expand their outreach to veterans, individuals with STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) backgrounds, and younger candidates from diverse educational and social environments — including state colleges, trade schools, religious institutions, and homeschool networks.
“Going forward, agencies shall ensure that early career recruitment focuses on patriotic Americans who will faithfully adhere to the Constitution and the rule of law,” the memo stated.
