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Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, LGBTQ
Callum Jones
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, LGBTQ
Some people on the internet have come to the conclusion as to what the employment act revoked by Donald Trump actually means for workers.
President Trump only took office on Monday (January 20) and he certainly hasn't wasted any time in getting his feet under the table.
Just hours after returning to The White House, Trump signed off on 25 executive orders, which included halting the ban of TikTok, changing laws on immigration, and declaring that there are 'only two genders'.
And undoubtedly among his most controversial moves was the signing on Tuesday (January 21) of a proposal which would bring an end to 'radical and wasteful government diversity, equity and inclusion' (DEI) programs.
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The president is accelerating his plan to dismantle DEI plans, having revoked the Executive Order 11246 (1965) and sending the message that government employees responsible in the Department of Labor will see their DEI programs removed 'immediately' while they face paid leave, The New Republic reports.
The law was designed to protect workers from discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.
Advocates for it have long argued it presents a level playing field for underrepresented minorities such as LGBTQ+ people.
But now, Trump's order to remove aims to stop companies hiring candidates on the basis of race and sex.
The order states: "As a part of this plan, each agency shall identify up to nine potential civil compliance investigations of publicly traded corporations, large non-profit corporations or associations, foundations with assets of 500 million dollars or more, State and local bar and medical associations, and institutions of higher education with endowments over 1 billion dollars."
The order has certainly received a lot of criticism online, with one person saying of it on Twitter: "Good for straight white males. Bad for everyone else."
There has even been a public outcry for the order to not go ahead.
Basil Smikle Jr, a political strategist and policy advisor, commented: "There's this clear effort to hinder, if not erode, the political and economic power of people of color and women.
"What it does is opens up the door for more cronyism."
Not everyone is against the changes being made by Trump however, with Louisiana Senator John Kennedy (Republican) telling USA Today reporters: "The best way to stop discriminating against people on the basis of race of gender is to stop discriminating against people on the basis of race and gender.
"The truth is the American people don't think about race or gender merely as much as some folks in Washington want to pretend."