Records show how DOGE planned Trump’s DEI purge — and who gets fired next
A DOGE team plans to fire federal workers who are not in DEI roles and employees in offices that protect equal rights, internal documents show.
By Hannah Natanson and Chris Dehghanpoor, Washington Post
A team of workers from the U.S. DOGE Service developed step-by-step plans for carrying out President Donald Trump’s order to purge diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives from the federal government — and over the next six months intends to expand that campaign dramatically, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post. DOGE aims to target staffers who are not in DEI roles and employees who work in offices established by law to ensure equal rights, internal DOGE documents show.
Summary:
The U.S. DOGE Service has developed a detailed three-phase plan to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives from the federal government, according to internal documents obtained by The Washington Post. The effort extends beyond just DEI-specific roles to target employees and offices that handle civil rights, equal employment, and discrimination investigations.
The plan is divided into three phases:
– Phase 1 (Day 1): Immediate placement of DEI workers on leave and shutdown of DEI websites
– Phase 2 (Current phase): Targeting employees in legally-mandated offices and those with any DEI-related activities in their work history
– Phase 3 (Starting soon through July): Large-scale firings through Reduction in Force (RIF) actions, including attempts to eliminate or restructure legally-mandated civil rights offices
DOGE has identified at least 583 employees for termination, though the actual number is likely much higher. The team, largely staffed by individuals with ties to Elon Musk’s companies but little government experience, has raised internal questions about their legal authority to carry out some of these actions. Despite these concerns, the administration is moving forward with the plan, supported by recent executive orders from President Trump to facilitate the restructuring of legally-mandated offices.
