Department of Veterans Affairs places 60 DEI employees on leave with salaries totaling more than $8M
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has placed nearly 60 employees on leave who focused on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and had a combined salary of more than $8 million.
The VA said in a press release Monday that it completed its implementation of President Donald Trump's executive order to end DEI in the federal government.
Part of the VA's abolishment of DEI within the agency meant placing on paid administrative leave about 60 employees who were solely focused on DEI activities.
The VA said the combined salary of the employees – including base pay, locality pay and additional earnings – exceeds $8 million, with the average pay being about $136,000 per year, per employee.
One of the employees had a salary of over $220,000 per year, according to the VA.
In addition to putting the employees on leave, the VA said it identified multiple contracts for DEI-related training, materials and other consulting services that are currently being looked at for cancellation. The combined value of the contracts, the VA said, is more than $6.1 million.
Over the coming weeks and months, the VA said it plans to work on reallocating resources to better support the veterans, families, caregivers and survivors who the agency exists to serve.
The VA is also taking down DEI-related materials from its digital assets.
"Under President Trump, VA is laser-focused on providing the best possible care and benefits to Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors," said Morgan Ackley, the VA's director of media affairs. "We are proud to have abandoned the divisive DEI policies of the past and pivot back to VA's core mission. We look forward to reallocating the millions of dollars the department was spending on DEI programs and personnel to better serve the men and women who have bravely served our nation."
The VA joins many other federal agencies that are executing Trump's plan to end DEI initiatives.
Trump's newly created Department of Government Efficiency temporary organization, headed up by tech billionaire Elon Musk, wrote in a social media post on X that about $420 million in current and impending contracts, mainly focused on DEI initiatives, had been canceled.
On the day of his inauguration, Monday, Jan. 20, Trump signed the executive order, and the federal Office of Personnel Management notified heads of agencies and departments that they must begin taking steps to close all DEI offices by the end of the day on Wednesday, Jan. 22, and place government workers in those offices on paid leave. It is not yet clear when or if they will be terminated.
Trump's order rescinded President Joe Biden's executive order on promoting diversity initiatives, "Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government," which he signed on his first day in office.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
4 minutes ago
- CBS News
"No Kings" protests taking place in Northern California on Saturday
Multiple protests are expected throughout Northern California as part of the "No Kings" movement on Saturday. The protests coincide with President Donald Trump's birthday and the military parade celebrating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army in Washington D.C., which Mr. Trump will be attending. "On June 14—Flag Day— President Trump wants tanks in the street and a made-for-TV display of dominance for his birthday," the No Kings website states. "We're not gathering to feed his ego. We're building a movement that leaves him behind." Northern California events A protest is planned at the California State Capitol on the West steps in Sacramento. It will begin at 10 a.m. and is scheduled to end at 1 p.m. According to Indivisible Sacramento, the event host, there will be speakers at the Capitol protest. Some of the speakers include Assembly Member Maggie Krell and Sacramento council member Roger Dickinson. Other protests are planned at the Roseville Galleria, Galt City Hall, East Bidwell Street/Highway 50 Overpass in Folsom, San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton. A protest is scheduled at 10 a.m. in Woodland, with people marching from the new courthouse to the old courthouse. In Davis, an event is planned at the Superior Court at 10 a.m. Non-violent protests The organizing page for No Kings states the movement is committed to non-violent action. "We expect all participants to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values and to act lawfully at these events," its website states.
USA Today
7 minutes ago
- USA Today
Melania Trump compared to 'grandma's couch' in floral pants outfit with bright heels
Melania Trump compared to 'grandma's couch' in floral pants outfit with bright heels Show Caption Hide Caption Melania Trump statue sawed off, stolen A bronze statue of Melania Trump has gone missing in her home country of Slovenia, five years after it replaced a wooden statue that was burned. First Lady Melania Trump's risky fashion behavior has fully bloomed. With summer underway, the ultra-private wife of President Donald Trump made an appearance on June 12, as dozens flocked to the White House South Lawn for the 2025 Congressional Picnic. Again, Trump raised eyebrows after sporting Dolce and Gabbana peony-print cotton jacquard pants and pink suede Manolo Blahnik pumps while greeting guests during the event. The List, an entertainment and lifestyle site geared towards women, said the "eye-popping pants look like grandma's couch." Melania Trump wears black veil to Pope Francis' funeral as President Trump dons blue suit Trump's fashion choices, which are thought to reveal subtle hints about her mood, are the subject of fierce controversy and constant attention. On Jan. 20, she emerged in a dark navy silk wool coat and skirt with an ivory silk crepe blouse designed by Adam Lippes for her husband's second inauguration ceremony. Although she often surprises watchers with her bargain buys and luxurious looks alike, the low-key black dress (and viral matching wide-brim hat) at the swearing-in was a stark departure from the Jacqueline Kennedy-inspired powder blue dress that she wore for her husband's first inauguration in 2017. The former fashion model — and first practicing Catholic to serve as first lady since Jacqueline Kennedy — also made headlines when she attended the April 26 service of Pope Francis in a double-breasted coat dress paired with a traditional veil, gloves and black stilettos.
New York Times
9 minutes ago
- New York Times
As Trump Prepares to Celebrates Army's Founding, His Critics Take to the Streets
President Trump prepared on Saturday to make a show of American military might with a parade of tanks, missiles and aircraft through the heart of the nation's capital, a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States Army that has already transformed into a test of wills and competing imagery, with demonstrators around the country decrying his expansion of executive power. On Saturday, central Washington was locked down, divided by a wall of tall, black crowd-control fences designed to assure that the parade, the first of its kind since American troops returned from the Gulf War in 1991, is an uninterrupted demonstration of history and American power. The event was scheduled to go on despite a forecast of thunderstorms. By design, military parades are part national celebration and part international intimidation, and Mr. Trump has wanted one in Washington since he attended a Bastille Day parade in Paris in 2017. Formally, the parade celebrates the decision by the Second Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, to raise a unified, lightly armed force of colonialists after the shock of the battles with British forces at Lexington and Concord. That army, which George Washington took command of a month later, ultimately expelled the far larger, better armed colonial force. But no celebration of history takes place in a political vacuum. And protesters in large cities and small towns from Seattle to Key West were planning to demonstrate against how Mr. Trump is making use of the modern force. His decisions over the past week to federalize the National Guard and call the Marines into the streets of Los Angeles, in support of his immigration roundups, has rekindled a debate about whether he is abusing the powers of the commander in chief. So the country was preparing for a split-screen show of force, before Mr. Trump presides over the parade and roughly 2,000 protests, under the slogan 'No Kings,' take place from Philadelphia to San Francisco to push back against what they see at authoritarian overreach. While the big-city rallies will attract attention, smaller events are being organized in rural areas, including three dozen in Indiana, a state Mr. Trump won last November by 19 points. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
