Trump Quietly Scraps Nondiscrimination Rule While No One Is Looking

Trump is so intent on winning the DEI culture war that he’s now killing bedrock programs from the segregation era.

The president on Tuesday revoked Executive Order 11246, which was signed into law in 1965 by Lyndon B. Johnson and installed antidiscriminatory practices into U.S. federal government contracting.

EO11246 prohibited federal contractors “who do over $10,000 in government business” from “discriminating in employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin.”

Trump’s executive order, which was first reported on by Law Dork’s Chris Geidner, formally repealed those protections.

“The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs within the Department of Labor shall immediately cease: Promoting ‘diversity’; holding Federal contractors and subcontractors responsible for taking ‘affirmative action’; and allowing or encouraging Federal contractors and subcontractors to engage in workforce balancing based on race, color, sex, sexual preference, religion, or national origin,” Trump’s order read. Contractors have 90 days until they have to comply.

This is a massive, regressive attack on basic policy that helps protect people from real discrimination. And it won’t lower the price of eggs.

The Trump administration has only been in power for two days, but some of its core players already appear to be at odds.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced Stargate—a public-private joint AI venture between the federal government, OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle, which the forty-seventh president claimed could invest as much as $500 billion into the bubbling tech sector over the next four years.

“This monumental undertaking is a resounding declaration of confidence in America’s potential,” Trump told reporters in the White House. “We’re going to make it as easy as it can be.”

But hours later, one of Trump’s closest tech advisers—the richest man in the world, Elon Musk—was already publicly questioning the initiative, telling users on his platform that the effort was a dud.

“They don’t actually have the money,” Musk wrote on X in response to a post from OpenAI announcing the digital infrastructure deal. “SoftBank has well under $10B secured. I have that on good authority.”

OpenAI and SoftBank are set to lead the project, with SoftBank taking on Stargate’s financial responsibility, according to Fortune. OpenAI’s chief Sam Altman called the venture the “most important project of this era.” Stargate involves an initial private investment of $100 billion into America’s AI infrastructure, a move that would begin a digital “re-industrialization of the United States,” ushering in “hundreds of thousands of American jobs,” OpenAI said in a statement Tuesday.

But Musk’s decision to reveal the rocky ground beneath Trump’s trophy deal, all while elevating his own know-how, could cause cracks in the powerful duo’s dynamic. In December, tech journalist Kara Swisher argued that the relationship between the two self-imagined strongmen is destined to flame out, just as it did with Trump’s former chief White House strategist Steve Bannon.

“They’re both narcissists, and there can be only one narcissist as head of the country, and that’s Donald Trump who just won the election,” Swisher said. “You know he owes things to Elon, but at some point, you know if he takes too much of the attention—think about Steve Bannon. You remember he was on the cover of that magazine, and how quickly he got out, even though he was critical to Trump’s first campaign and he was right in the middle of the White House, and then he wasn’t.”

“Trump goes through people like tissues, essentially,” Swisher noted at the time. “And even if it’s Musk, they’re going to clash at some point.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson is planning to use the wildfires in California as an opportunity to impose Donald Trump’s agenda.

During a one-on-one interview Tuesday night, Fox News’s Sean Hannity asked whether Johnson thought that disaster aid could be used for leverage against sanctuary cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco.

“Are you saying that California, if they continue to aid and abet lawbreaking and harboring illegal immigrants, money from D.C. gets cut off?” Hannity asked.

“Yeah, we’re talking about conditions to this disaster aid. Look, they are natural disasters, but there are man-made disasters as well,” Johnson said. “And they made terrible decisions, you know? They knew exactly what they were doing.”

“That reservoir outside the Pacific Palisades, 117 million gallons—it was empty for a year. Why? They were trying to save a smelt fish or something,” Johnson said.

Hannity, who often acts as MAGA’s shadow policymaker, asked a question that was ripped straight from the pages of Project 2025. A chapter written by Ken Cuccinelli, Trump’s former deputy secretary of homeland security, suggested that funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency could be withheld from places that fail to comply with immigration laws, such as sanctuary cities.

But even the authoritarian handbook added one caveat, noting that “post-disaster or nonhumanitarian funding” could be exempt from the immigration policy requirements.

It seems that Johnson is way past concessions for the sake of humanity now. While it’s unclear from his answer whether he plans to use the wildfires to impose immigration policy, it’s clear he views it as an opportunity to reform liberal policies he doesn’t like: namely environmental regulations.

Johnson’s line about smelt is one that Trump has been using to complain about California’s water conservation efforts since he was on the campaign trail. In reality, the reservoir was offline for repairs.

By shifting the lion’s share of the blame onto the California government, Republicans seem to think they can buy themselves more time to play politics with money for struggling families who have lost their homes, businesses, and belongings.

Donald Trump’s Justice Department is already beginning its anti-immigration crusade, starting with policing state and local governments.

The Associated Press obtained a department memo Wednesday directing federal prosecutors to investigate state and local government officials who interfere with new federal immigration laws. The memo states that prosecutors should “take all steps necessary to protect the public and secure the American border by removing illegal aliens from the country and prosecuting illegal aliens for crimes.”

If state or local officials obstruct or add hurdles to federal immigration enforcement, prosecutors are ordered to look at potential criminal charges.

“Federal law prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing and otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands and requests,” the memo states. “The U.S. Attorney’s Offices and litigating components of the Department of Justice shall investigate incidents involving any such misconduct for potential prosecution.”

This is all part of Trump’s campaign promise to carry out mass deportations, given that such a large-scale effort will require cooperation from local and state authorities. Republican officials have already pledged their support, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is already taking steps to pass laws to assist the deportation effort.

But Trump is headed for a clash with Democratic state and local officials, many of whom, like California Governor Gavin Newsom, are already preparing to take on the new administration with lawsuits and special legislation of their own. The next weeks and months are going to involve plenty of chaos and legal fights between Trump and immigration advocates.

Trump’s pardons don’t stop with violent January 6 insurrectionists. On Tuesday, he also freed a massive dark web drug dealer.

Ross Ulbricht ran Silk Road, an online black market that moved $200 million worth of illegal drugs, distributed fake passports, helped hackers collaborate, and laundered money. He was also prosecuted for allegedly soliciting six murders for hire, one against a former employee.

Ulbricht was sentenced to double life imprisonment, plus 40 years, in 2015.

“Make no mistake: Ulbricht was a drug dealer and criminal profiteer who exploited people’s addictions and contributed to the deaths of at least six young people,” said U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara after Ulbricht’s sentencing. “Ulbricht went from hiding his cybercrime identity to becoming the face of cybercrime and as today’s sentence proves, no one is above the law.”

Trump initially promised to pardon Ulbricht during a speech at the 2024 Libertarian Convention, making a direct appeal to the right-of-center crowd for their votes.

“And if you vote for me, on day one I will commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht, who was sentenced.… He’s already served 11 years. We’re gonna get him home. I’m proud that I have put forward a detailed plan to smash the censorship and industrial complex and restore free speech.” The room erupted in cheers of “FREE ROSS.”

“I just called the mother of Ross William Ulbricht to let her know that in honor of her and the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly, it was my pleasure to have just signed a full and unconditional pardon of her son, Ross,” the president wrote on Truth Social Tuesday evening. “The scum that worked to convict him were some of the same lunatics who were involved in the modern day weaponization of government against me. He was given two life sentences, plus 40 years. Ridiculous!”

“Immense gratitude to everyone who voted for President Trump on my behalf. I trust him to honor his pledge and give me a second chance,” Ulbricht wrote on X. “After 11+ years in darkness, I can finally see the light of freedom at the end of the tunnel.”

All federal employees in diversity, equity, and inclusion roles will be placed on paid leave by the end of Wednesday, thanks to a new mandate by President Donald Trump.

The forty-seventh president has set a deadline that all DEI-related offices, programs, and their related websites and social media accounts shall be shuttered by 5 p.m., according to a memo from the Office of Personnel Management.

The memo also states that federal agencies need to submit a written plan by the end of the month for dismissing the DEI employees.

“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 color of their skin,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told NBC News in a statement Tuesday night, adding that the move to oust diversity roles—which Trump had mentioned in his inaugural speech—should come as “no surprise.”

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

Trump signed an executive order ending the programs Monday night. The order, titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” accused the Biden-era diversity policies of being “illegal and immoral discrimination programs.”

But outside of the federal government and in corporate America, the administration’s message on diversity initiatives is loud and clear: They are, simply, not necessary. Mentions of DEI in company earnings calls have dropped by approximately 82 percent since Q2 of 2021, reported Axios.

The shift away from DEI began when the Supreme Court ruled on the diversity program in 2023, but the “trickle became a flood” after Trump’s election victory, with companies such as Harley Davidson, Ford, Molson Coors, Walmart, and McDonald’s peeling back their corporate diversity commitments, according to the Financial Times.

Major social media companies, including Elon Musk’s X and Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, have simultaneously stripped their respective platforms of their content-moderation divisions. Earlier this month, an updated version of Meta’s hateful conduct policy suddenly allowed users on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads to refer to women as property, Black people as “farm equipment,” transgender individuals as “it,” and LGBTQ+-identifying persons as mentally ill.

“What we’re seeing is companies looking at the holistic picture—like social media campaigns that have been run against companies and the political environment in which you have not only Trump, but his closest advisors, such as Elon Musk, going after particular companies around DEI,” Ann O’Leary, partner and co-chair of government controversies and public policy litigation practice at Jenner & Block, told Axios on Thursday. “But we’re also seeing companies really taking a close look at why they’re doing what they’re doing.”

It seems that Donald Trump was extremely triggered after being called out during a service at the Washington National Cathedral, taking to social media to post a rant in the early hours of Wednesday.

Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and their spouses attended a service at the Episcopal church on Tuesday, and were faced with a surprising direct appeal from Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde. The bishop of Washington urged Trump to “have mercy” on gay, lesbian, and transgender children, as well as undocumented immigrants who now have to fear his sweeping deportation raids, even though “the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals.”

But it didn’t seem that mercy was of any interest to Trump. Not even at church.

“The so-called Bishop who spoke at the National Prayer Service on Tuesday morning was a Radical Left hard line Trump hater,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social hours later. “She brought her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way.

“She was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart. She failed to mention the large number of illegal migrants that came into our Country and killed people. Many were deposited from jails and mental institutions. It is a giant crime wave that is taking place in the USA,” Trump wrote.

“Apart from her inappropriate statements, the service was a very boring and uninspiring one. She is not very good at her job,” he continued. “She and her church owe the public an apology!”

The post was signed “t,” indicating that it was actually written by Trump and not one of his staffers.

It seems that Trump cannot hear a plea for mercy without becoming so enraged he starts name-calling and demanding an apology—a great quality for a president to have.

President Donald Trump was directly called out to his face during a sermon at the Washington National Cathedral Tuesday.

Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and their spouses were in attendance for the church service at the progressive institution, and had to listen as the Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde, the Episcopal bishop at the cathedral, delivered a direct appeal to the president to conclude her sermon.

“In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and independent families—some who fear for their lives,” Budde said, but didn’t stop at LGBTQ rights, going on to address Trump’s plans for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.

“The people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meatpacking plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals—they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals,” Budde continued.

The bishop then called on Trump “to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear their parents will be taken away, and that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here.”

It was a bold address for a Christian leader to make to the famously thin-skinned president to his face, particularly since Trump has been avoiding confrontational appearances and interviews for several months. When asked about the prayer event later Tuesday, Trump was dismissive, telling the press that the service was “not too exciting” and “they can do much better.”

Supporters of the president were none too happy with Budde’s remarks, with Representative Mike Collins posting that the bishop should be “added to the deportation list” and pundit Charlie Kirk saying that “she disgraced herself with a lecture you’d hear on CNN or an episode of The View.”

But, following Trump’s inauguration, Budde has the honor of being the first person to publicly confront the president to his face, at a time when many Americans will be looking for some form of hope in the face of what could be a very dark four years. Perhaps Trump’s other opponents should take inspiration in their attempts to thwart the president’s immediate agenda.

The Fraternal Order of Police refuses to comment on Donald Trump’s massive pardons of January 6 insurrectionists, including those guilty of assaulting Capitol Police officers.

“The Fraternal Order of Police endorsed Trump for president. They congratulated him on his win in November,” wrote S.V. Dáte of Huff Post. “Here is what they had to say when I just asked them about Trump releasing HUNDREDS of violent felons who assaulted cops: ‘We don’t have a statement about that.’”

Trump pardoned over 1,500 people in connection with the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Some of them, like Julian Khater, who pepper-sprayed Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick in the face, clearly committed violence against police and were found guilty of doing so (Sicknick died the day after the attack). Yet one of the most vocal, most powerful police unions in America has nothing to say about the cops who were under attack by supporters of the candidate they endorsed.

“Those who participated in the assaults, looting, and trespassing must be arrested and held to account,’ the Order wrote on X just six months after January 6, 2021.

Buried in Donald Trump’s rescission of dozens of Biden administration executive orders, the president has reversed a rule that thwarted the power of lobbyists in Washington. 

Biden’s Executive Order 13989, titled “Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel,” required members of the executive branch to sign an ethics pledge stating they would not receive gifts from lobbyists or lobbying organizations. 

The Biden-era pledge also included several clauses related to a “revolving door ban,” which prohibited all employees entering the government from working with regulations and contracts related to their former employer or former clients for a period of two years from their appointment. 

The revolving door ban also prohibits lobbyists joining the government from working on matters that they had personally lobbied for or engaged in, participating in the “specific issue area in which that particular matter falls,” or seeking employment with an agency they had lobbied within two years of their appointment. 

The pledge included a “golden parachute” agreement, where employees had to agree not to accept payment from their former employer to join the administration. 

The ethics commitment was part of Biden’s efforts to crack down on shadow lobbying, by which former government officials are able to influence policy without registering as lobbyists. 

Clearly, Trump doesn’t have the same concerns. At the start of his first administration, Trump imposed a similar, even harsher rule against lobbying that prevented his former employees from lobbying for five years. He repealed that order in 2021. Dozens of Trump’s aides were able to get round that rule anyway because it was only ever weakly enforced, according to Open Secrets.   

Trump has rescinded the Biden version of that executive order as part of one of his own first executive orders that repealed more than 75 of Biden’s executive orders. 

Under Trump, it will be legal to bribe politicians again, the revolving door of Washington will continue to swing, and calls to “drain the swamp” will fade into nothing more than a dull murmur.