WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump stepped up a crackdown on diversity programmes and immigration on Wednesday, with the Republican preparing to lay out more of his hardline agenda in an Oval Office interview.
The White House ordered that all federal employees in programmes intended to bolster minority groups should be put on paid leave from Wednesday, Trump´s second full day back in power.
The US Justice Department meanwhile threatened to prosecute local and state authorities if they fail to cooperate with Trump´s immigration policies, which include a pledge to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.
The 78-year-old is pushing forward with a blitz of executive actions undoing predecessor Joe Biden´s policies on everything from immigration to gender and climate, as he promises a new “golden age” for America.
“President Trump campaigned on ending the scourge of DEI from our federal government,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement published by NBC News.
Leavitt said billionaire Trump would be “returning America to a merit based society where people are hired based on their skills, not for the color of their skin.”
Conservatives say diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) schemes pushed by Biden discriminate against white people -- men in particular. US government workers in diversity offices must be put on paid leave by 5:00 pm (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, Leavitt confirmed.
He further ordered an end to “DEI madness” when hiring employees for the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), overturning yet another directive by Biden. Trump was sitting down on Wednesday for an interview with Fox News´s Sean Hannity in the Oval Office which was due to be broadcast at 9pm.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove said in a memorandum that federal law “prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing, and otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands.” Trump declared a national emergency on the Mexican border in one of his first moves on Monday, and has promised raids and the deportation of “millions” of migrants in the country illegally.
Marco Rubio, the new secretary of state, said on Wednesday he will rid his department of work on climate and “cultural” issues -- a sharp turnaround from the Biden era which named the first-ever US special envoy on LGBTQ rights.
Musk on Wednesday cast doubt on a $500 billion AI project announced by Trump and a group of other tech barons, saying in a post on his social media platform X that they “don´t actually have the money.”
The new president has faced defiance from other quarters, including a rare public dressing-down Tuesday from a bishop during the customary inaugural service. Washington National Cathedral Bishop, Mariann Edgar Budde, told Trump from the pulpit that he was sowing fear among America´s immigrants and LGBTQ people.
“I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now,” Budde said to Trump, who was seated in the church´s front pew. Trump blasted her on his Truth Social platform early on Wednesday, calling her “nasty” and a “Radical Left hard line Trump hater.”
“She was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart,” said Trump, who demanded an apology. Trump is meanwhile pushing for quick wins on the international front, where his disruptive approach is already causing shockwaves among allies and adversaries alike.
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