By Daniel Trotta, Andrea Shalal and Bianca Flowers
(Reuters) -The Trump administration on Wednesday urged government employees to inform on each other and their departments in order to root out any attempts to hide diversity programs.
The latest escalation in U.S. President Donald Trump's campaign against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) comes a day after he pressured the private sector to join the initiative and told government employees in offices administering such programs they would be placed on paid leave.
Trump also issued a series of executive orders to dismantle DEI programs on his first day in office on Monday, marking a complete reversal from his predecessor Democrat Joe Biden, who prioritized DEI programs and initiatives across the federal government.
DEI programs attempt to promote opportunities for women, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+ people and other traditionally underrepresented groups.
Civil rights advocates have argued such programs are necessary to address longstanding inequities and structural racism. Trump and his supporters say DEI programs end up unfairly discriminating against other Americans and weaken the importance of candidates' merit in job hiring or promotion.
In a new message distributed on Wednesday, government employees were warned they would face "adverse consequences" if they failed to promptly report any hidden DEI programs.
"We are aware of efforts by some in government to disguise these programs by using coded or imprecise language," said the memo, which set a 10-day deadline for information.
It was not immediately clear what evidence the administration has of any efforts to conceal diversity programs.
"There will be no adverse consequences for timely reporting this information. However, failure to report this information within 10 days may result in adverse consequences," the memo said.
The same language was sent to employees of several departments and attributed to different members of Trump's cabinet - for example it came from Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the State Department and from Acting Attorney General James McHenry at the Justice Department.
Trump's latest attack on DEI drew widespread criticism from civil rights advocates.
Psyche Williams-Forson, a professor of American Studies at the University of Maryland, said long-standing resentments among white men were resurfacing and helped enable Trump's political comeback despite his felony convictions and the civil judgments against him for fraud and sexual abuse.
"This country is fundamentally founded on racist principles. It always has been and it continues to be. There was no way in the world that America was going to allow another Black person to succeed. Obama just totally defied the odds," Williams-Forson said.
U.S. Representative Hank Johnson, a Democrat from Georgia, accused Trump of "turning back the clock and dismantling decades of progress made by Black people."
Noreen Farrell, executive director of Equal Rights Advocates (ERA), a nonprofit group promoting gender equality, said Trump's executive orders would also impede American competitiveness.
"The message is clear: this administration is willing to sacrifice both civil rights and economic growth to advance an extremist agenda," Farrell said in a statement.
Rev. Al Sharpton, founder and president of the National Action (WA:ACT) Network, formally announced Wednesday the organization and its partners plan to identify two companies in the next 90 days that will be boycotted for abandoning DEI pledges. Reuters first reported the coordinated action ahead of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The White House did not respond to a request from Reuters to address criticism from civil rights advocates.
Trump has also sought to dissuade private companies that receive government contracts from using DEI programs and hiring on the basis of race and sex and asks government agencies to identify private companies that might be subject to civil investigation.
The federal government committed $739 billion to contractors in fiscal year 2023, according to the Government Accountability Office, and the programs Trump is attacking are intended to ensure minority-led businesses are not overlooked due to discrimination.
Trump's actions mark a significant setback to decades-long efforts to ensure equality in federal hiring and contracts.
Tuesday night's order rescinded a 1965 executive order signed by former Democrat President Lyndon B. Johnson that prohibited federal contractors from discriminating in employment and employed affirmative action to ensure equal opportunity based on race, color, religion and national origin.
Johnson's order was seen as a significant moment of progress in the civil rights movement, coming at a time when Black Americans faced the threat of violence and "Jim Crow" laws that prohibited them from voting and from living in predominantly white neighborhoods.