‘All kinds of dumb outcomes’ likely from Trump’s latest education policy: expert
President Donald Trump required Department of Education employees to attend "diversity training" during his first term. Now, he's suspending them as he seeks to root out Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) from the federal government.
A new piece in Monday's Washington Post reports that Trump's Education Secretary Betsy DeVos was fully onboard with the training in 2017 when she wrote, "In building strong teams, embracing diversity and inclusion are key elements for success.”
"Now, in the opening days of Trump’s second term, dozens of employees who attended that diversity program — many during Trump’s first term — have been placed on leave because of it, according to union officials, affected employees and a person with knowledge of how the decisions were made," wrote WaPo reporters Laura Meckler and Hannah Natanson.
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Education officials have been "scrubbing" the agency’s website for words like "diversity, transgender, LGBTQIA and equity," WaPo reported. "On Friday, a directive sent to department employees said the agency would terminate programs, contracts, policies or media that mention transgender or 'fail to affirm the reality of biological sex.'”
Michael Petrilli, with conservative think tank Thomas B. Fordham Institute, called Trump's move, "Kafkaesque" and "Orwellian.”
“It is ridiculous to threaten professionals’ livelihoods because they attended a training. Most of America attended a DEI training in 2020. This policy by keyword search will lead to all kinds of dumb outcomes and, I hope, a real backlash," Petrilli said.
A spokeswoman for the Education Department "defended the decisions to place the employees on leave" as a part of the Trump administration’s review of federal agencies, adding that the administration has "the commitment to prioritize meaningful learning ahead of divisive ideology in schools."
Trump's war on DEI is expected to receive extensive legal pushback, especially after a memo from the Justice Department "indicated that the department would be involved in enforcing" Trump's executive order declaring DEI "illegal."
Marjorie Taylor Greene fears future Dem president will ‘wipe out’ Gulf of America name
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's (R-GA) first order of business in a Monday interview was to warn that future Democrats would "wipe out" President Donald Trump's executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America if Congress did not act quickly.
During an interview on the right-wing Real America's Voice network, Greene was asked about her agenda as chair of the House DOGE subcommittee and Trump's decision to revoke dozens of security clearances.
"We want to get to DOGE and the big deal that you've got going on on Wednesday here in DC. But before we get to that, what did you make of President Trump removing Biden's security clearance?" host David Brody wondered.
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"I actually don't understand why former presidents and people that are no longer working for the federal government even need security clearances," Greene opined. "But just for a minute there, you know, I want to talk about Gulf of America, David, because I introduced the bill to officially rename the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America and in complete alignment with President Trump, because future administrations, especially the Democrats, if they get control, they're going to wipe out his executive orders."
"So Congress needs to do these things and make them official," she added. "And I'm looking forward to getting that passed through the House."
