Trump Attack on Diversity Training Has a Quick and Chilling Effect

The response to the executive order has been swift. The Justice Department suspended all diversity and inclusion training last week, and the agency has indefinitely postponed implicit bias training for federal prosecutors that was planned for September.

The University of Iowa, fearing a loss of federal research grants, paused programs across the university, including training for university employees on race or sex stereotyping and scapegoating. In a statement, a spokeswoman said the university’s general counsel suspected that the executive order may apply to all employees, not simply those who receive money from the federal government.

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The reaction has been driven, in part, by the severity of the penalties. Violation of the executive order by contractors carries the risk of debarment or blacklisting from government contracts, which could put some companies out of business.

The Labor Department has already rolled out a hotline for tips about noncompliance. The department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs will also require that federal contractors and subcontractors send in for review the content of diversity and inclusion training programs as well as their duration and expense.

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Mr. Rufo, who said he provided his research to the White House for the executive order, defended the language and said the companies now altering their diversity training are “tacitly admitting to institutional discrimination and, if you will, institutional racism.” He called the programs “race-based harassment of employees.”

“The executive order is really the first shot in a long war against critical race theory,” he said.

If only this had been done 2 or 3 years ago.