Trump administration orders all federal DEI program workers to be placed on paid leave
The Trump administration is ordering federal employees in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) program roles to be put on paid leave by Wednesday evening, NBC is reporting.
A new memo from the Office of Personnel Management also asks federal agencies to submit plans to dismiss all DEI program employees by 31 January. Websites and social media accounts for DEI programs are to be closed.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was a “promise kept”, and “another win for Americans of all races, religions, and creeds.”
She added “President Trump campaigned on ending the scourge of DEI from our federal government and returning America to a merit based society.”
Key events
A new poll finds that increasing border security and deporting undocumented immigrants convicted of crimes are relatively popular proposals with Americans.
But Donald Trump’s hardline approaches to immigration more broadly – including ending birthright citizenship and deporting all undocumented immigrants, even those who have not interacted with the criminal justice system – are more divisive, the survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found.
What it found about border security:
Half of U.S. adults think increasing security at the border should be a high priority for the federal government, according to the poll, and about 3 in 10 say it should be a moderate priority. Just 2 in 10, roughly, consider it a low priority.
The vast majority of U.S. adults favor deporting immigrants convicted of violent crimes, and the Trump administration’s deportation efforts may begin there. But Trump’s initial executive orders have gone far beyond that — including efforts to keep asylum-seekers in Mexico and end automatic citizenship.
And Trump, a Republican, is continuing to signal an aggressive and likely divisive approach, with promises to deport millions of people who entered the country illegally while declaring a “national emergency at our southern border.” About 4 in 10 American adults support deporting all immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, and a similar share are opposed.
And about Trump’s more extreme actions:
Removing immigrants who are in the country illegally and have not committed a violent crime is highly divisive, with only about 4 in 10 U.S. adults in support and slightly more than 4 in 10 opposed.
And relatively few Americans, about 3 in 10, somewhat or strongly favor changing the Constitution so children born in the U.S. are not automatically granted citizenship if their parents are in the country illegally. About 2 in 10 are neutral, and about half are somewhat or strongly opposed.
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The poll finds that a shift toward arresting people in the country illegally at places like churches and schools would be highly unpopular. Only about 2 in 10 U.S. adults somewhat or strongly favor arresting children who are in the country illegally while they are at school, and a similar share support arresting people who are in the country illegally while they are at church. Solid majorities, about 6 in 10, oppose these kinds of arrests.
Even Republicans aren’t fully on board — less than half favor arrests of children in schools or people at church.
Yesterday, the homeland security department released a memo that allowed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents to arrest suspected undocumented immigrants at hospitals, churches, schools and other sensitive locations where they were prohibited from doing so under Joe Biden.
In an interview today with CNN, Chad Wolf, a former acting homeland security secretary, said that any actions by Ice agents at those locations would be “targeted”:
What we’re talking about is targeted enforcement operations. And if you have a criminal aliens that is, you know, near a school, near a church, near a court house. What I think the Trump administration is saying is that it’s OK to arrest that individual, to remove them out of that community, to remove them out of that situation and – and deport them. So, I think it’s important – again, we’re not talking about raids here, we’re not talking about just wandering through neighborhoods. That’s not how ICE conducts their operations.
Here’s more about the new policy:
Justice department may investigate attempts to block immigration enforcement
Federal prosecutors could investigate state and local officials who do not cooperate with Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies, the Associated Press reports, citing a justice department memo authored by an appointee of the new president.
The policy marks an attempt by the new Trump administration to overcome local efforts to resist his plans for mass deportation of undocumented immigrants. Some cities and states have passed laws or approved policies that limit their cooperation with immigration authorities, and the memo from acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove signals prosecutors could be tasked with going after officials who follow those laws.
Here’s more, from the AP:
The Justice Department is directing its federal prosecutors to investigate any state or local officials who stand in the way of beefed-up enforcement of immigration laws under the Trump administration, according to a memo to the entire workforce obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Written by Emil Bove, the acting deputy attorney general, the memo also says the department will return to the principle of charging defendants with the most serious crime it can prove, a staple position of Republican-led departments meant to remove a prosecutor’s discretion to charge a lower-level offense.
Much of the memo is centered on immigration enforcement. Bove wrote that prosecutors shall “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” committed in U.S. jurisdiction.
The memo also suggests state and local officials who stand in the way of federal immigration enforcement could themselves come under scrutiny. It directs prosecutors to investigate any episodes in which state and local officials obstruct or impede federal functions.
“Federal law prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing and otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands and requests,” the memo says. “The U.S. Attorney’s Offices and litigating components of the Department of Justice shall investigate incidents involving any such misconduct for potential prosecution.”
Donald Trump’s blanket pardons to January 6 rioters have been condemned by a major police union that had endorsed his candidacy, the Guardian’s Adam Gabbatt reports:
The largest police union in the US, which endorsed Donald Trump during his campaign, said Trump’s decision to pardon more than 1,500 people convicted over the January 6 insurrection “sends a dangerous message”, in a statement on Tuesday.
The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), which endorsed Trump in September 2024, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) warned that the blanket clemency offered to rioters – including those convicted of violent offenses, and several leaders of the attack on the Capitol – threatened Americans’ safety.
“The IACP and FOP are deeply discouraged by the recent pardons and commutations granted by both the Biden and Trump administrations to individuals convicted of killing or assaulting law enforcement officers. The IACP and FOP firmly believe that those convicted of such crimes should serve their full sentences,” the IACP and FOP statement said.
It continued: “Crimes against law enforcement are not just attacks on individuals or public safety – they are attacks on society and undermine the rule of law. Allowing those convicted of these crimes to be released early diminishes accountability and devalues the sacrifices made by courageous law enforcement officers and their families.
The top Democrat on the Senate judiciary committee, Dick Durbin, met with Kash Patel yesterday, and released a statement saying that Donald Trump’s nominee for FBI director is the wrong man for the job.
Here’s what Durbin had to say:
Kash Patel has neither the experience, the temperament, nor the judgment to lead the FBI.
We were reminded on 9/11 that the FBI is the first agency we rely on to keep America safe. The 30,000 professionals at the FBI have the skills and resources to protect us. They deserve a leader who understands the gravity of their mission.
Mr Patel’s political grievances make him a favorite of the MAGA world, but they have not prepared him to work night and day to keep us safe from violent crime, drug trafficking, terrorism, and other threats. Mr. Patel is the wrong choice to lead the FBI.
Politico reports that Patel’s confirmation hearing before the committee has been scheduled for 29 January.
Trump’s second inauguration had smallest US TV audience since 2013
Associated Press reports the Nielsen Company says an estimated 24.6 million people watched coverage of President Donald Trump’s second inauguration in the US.
It says that is the lowest audience since 2013, when Barack Obama was sworn in for his second term. Nielsen says it is also down from the 33.8 million who saw Joe Biden’s inauguration, and the 30.6 million who saw Trump take office for the first time in 2017.
President Trump issued an executive order earlier this week instructing the federal government to ensure passports only reflect two sexes, preventing the use of taxpayer funds for gender-affirming healthcare, and mandating that prisons are designated by sex assigned at birth.
Alaina Demopoulos reports for the Guardian on the reaction of the trans community in the US, with one trans man describing the move as “a twist of the knife”.
Read Alaina Demopoulos’ report here:
There has been some dissent among Republican ranks about Donald Trump’s decision to issue a blanket pardon to people involved in the January 6 Capitol riot, including those who were convicted of violent crimes.
North Carolina’s senator Thom Tillis expressed concerns with pardons for “people who did harm to a police officer”, while Alaska’s senator Lisa Murkowski said she was “disappointed” that the pardon included “those who caused harm – physical harm – to our police officers.”
Indian and US diplomats are trying to arrange a meeting in February between Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and US president Donald Trump in Washington, two Indian sources familiar with the discussions have told Reuters.
Trump demands apology from bishop who asked him to show mercy
Overnight on social media Donald Trump responded to Bishop Budde, the leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, calling on him to show mercy, by saying that “she brought her church into the world of politics in a very ungracious way.”
In a post to his Truth Social network, Trump said:
She brought her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way. She was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart.
He added that “the so-called Bishop who spoke at the National Prayer Service on Tuesday morning was a Radical Left hard line Trump hater … she and her church owe the public an apology!”
The Right Rev Mariann Budde had said “There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives. You have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy on the people in our country who are scared now.”
Trump executive order lays groundwork for Muslim ban repeat, civil rights group says
Ashifa Kassam
One of the largest Arab American civil rights organisations in the US has spoken out against one of the executive orders issued by Donald Trump on Monday, warning that it lays the groundwork for a repeat of Trump’s so-called Muslim ban in 2017.
Signed as part of Trump’s barrage of executive orders, the new order instructs top homeland security and national intelligence officials to jointly submit a report within 60 days identifying countries whose vetting and screening processes are deemed “deficient.”
The list could then trigger either partial or full bans on nationals from these countries, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee said in a statement.
The organisation also expressed concern that the new order is seemingly wider-reaching than the 2017 ban, in that it targets perceived ideologies. The new order would allow the government to be allowed to deny visas or entry based on perceived political opinions, religious beliefs or cultural background, it said.
“Such practices echo some of the most troubling chapters in our nation’s history, when the government barred and scrutinized people solely for their viewpoints or associations rather than any credible security concern,” the committee noted.
Others groups in the US have also expressed concerns about the order. On Tuesday the National Iranian American Council warned that the order sets the stage for a ban to be announced any day through March. As it instructs officials to report on visas issued in the past four years, the council worried that it could pave the way for the deportation of Iranians and other individuals who lawfully secured visas after Trump’s previous ban was repealed in 2021.