Upon his resumption of the presidency, Donald Trump has directed great attention toward quashing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. DEI, like other buzzwords such as wokeness and CRT, has become somewhat of a bogeyman among Republican politicians. While on the campaign trail for his third presidential run, Trump pledged to “terminate every diversity, equity, and inclusion program across the entire federal government.” Elon Musk, one of Trump’s most prominent henchmen, termed DEI as “just another word for racism [against whites].” Trump’s incendiary rhetoric towards DEI has transformed into policy, with him signing a spate of executive orders targeting federal DEI programs during his first weeks in office. However, these imperiled programs have social and economic virtues that the Trump administration is callously ignores. 

Hours after reassuming office, President Trump fired his first salvo against DEI through an executive order entitled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” The White House proclaimed it “the most important federal civil rights measure in decades,” abrogating several executive orders promoting diverse hiring practices and racial equity under the guise of espousing fairness. However, while public discourse surrounding DEI has focused on diverse hiring practices, Trump’s executive order repeals various crucial measures protecting the health and livelihood of minorities. 

Among the repealed executive orders is E.O. 12898 (Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations). This order required the Department of Energy to monitor its operations to ensure that noxious wastes emitted during energy production would not disproportionately harm any community. Black Americans are already 75 percent more likely than White Americans to reside near industrial facilities, which contributes to a higher risk of diseases such as cancer and heart disease. The repeal of E.O. 12898 will only exacerbate existing disparities in the populations unduly burdened by environmental waste and could jeopardize the health of low-income and minority communities. Trump has promulgated the narrative that DEI programs are inherently discriminatory while repealing a statute that explicitly insulates Americans from environmental injustice. 

But at least the executive order restored merit-based hiring practices, right? Not exactly. It repealed Equal Employment Opportunity in the Federal Government, which protected all Americans from workplace discrimination. According to the Department of Labor’s hiring rules, this order expressly forbade racial preferences or quotas; it simply worked to ensure that all federal employees would be treated equally irrespective of race, creed, sex, or other protected statuses. It did, however, mandate companies to disclose employment information to the federal government, which could be used in the event of a discrimination complaint. Discrimination lawsuits were not limited to minorities; approximately one-fourth of plaintiffs compensated for employment discrimination are white men. 

Donald Trump’s attacks on DEI have extended beyond his executive actions. After the devastating airplane collision that killed 67 passengers in Virginia, Trump laid blame on the Federal Aviation Administration’s diverse hiring practices—specifically their recruitment of disabled air traffic controllers. Despite the FAA's diversity efforts, they continually set a high benchmark for hiring, ensuring that only the most qualified individuals were selected. Diversity initiatives do not preclude meritocratic hiring practices—the two can and should coexist. 

Following Trump’s blitz on DEI, various American corporate giants, including Target, Walmart, and John Deere, withdrew or reined in their diversity policies. A McKinsey study found that, in 2019, companies in the top quartile of executive board diversity outearned their counterparts in the bottom quartile of executive board diversity by 36 percent. Diversity can support underrepresented populations in corporate boards by providing them a seat at the table while also enhancing corporate performance by engendering an influx of diverse ideas.

For years, Trump has fomented a mistrust towards diversity, equity, and inclusion—three seemingly congenial objectives. Companies should work to create a diverse workforce, ensure fair treatment for all employees, and cultivate an environment where everyone feels valued. Recent developments, however, have made this objective less likely. Instead, Republicans have turned DEI into a pejorative, with Representative Tim Burchett calling Kamala Harris a “DEI Hire” during her presidential campaign. The conservative critique of DEI has not only become a vehicle for promoting racism but has also corroded public trust in systems that benefit all Americans, such as environmental justice and anti-employment discrimination policies. The recent assault on DEI undermines efforts to build a fairer society and perpetuates the very inequalities it claims to oppose.