The new federal Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) announced Friday that taxpayers will see just over a $1 billion savings through the elimination of 104 diversity, equity and inclusion-related (DEI) contracts.
As of Wednesday, DOGE had recorded the cancellation of 85 “DEIA” contracts from 25 federal agencies. By Friday afternoon, that number had grown to 104 contracts totaling $1,000,060,792, according to a DOGE news release.
Of note, 21 Department of the Treasury contracts were canceled, saving a total of $25,247,783. In second place was the Department of Health & Human Services, which canceled 15 contracts worth $28,187,448.
While the Office of Personnel Management only had three contracts canceled, the dollar figure was pinned at a whopping $494,956,233, an average of about $165 million per DEI contract.
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The other agencies with the most contracts canceled by the Trump administration include Agriculture with 11 and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Homeland Security with seven each.
According to a release Monday from the Department of Veterans Affairs, 60 employees whose roles were solely focused on DEI were placed on administrative leave, and spokesperson Morgan Ackley said the administration is “laser focused on providing the best possible care and benefits to Veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors.”
“We are proud to have abandoned the divisive DEI policies of the past and pivot back to VA’s core mission,” Ackley said.
The rapid-fire DEI contract eliminations come one week after President Donald Trump signed an executive order targeting the endeavors, officially described as “ending illegal discrimination and restoring merit-based opportunity.”
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However, a consortium of liberal state attorneys general lambasted Trump with a warning that the moves “have nothing to do with combating discrimination.”
A joint statement led by Rhode Island AG Peter Neronha Friday called the executive orders that led to the dismantling of DEI policies and programs “unnecessary and disingenuous.”
Neronha and his co-signers — attorneys general from California, Illinois, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Vermont and Washington state — said they would agree to be “willing partners” in cracking down on discrimination if Trump chose instead to utilize “longstanding civil rights laws” rather than the path he has chosen.
“Contrary to President Trump’s assertions, the policies he seeks to end do not diminish the importance of individual merit, nor do they mean that employers are lowering their standards, hiring unqualified candidates, or engaging in race-and-sex-based preferences,” the statement said.
“DEIA initiatives simply ensure that there are fair opportunities for everyone, helping to maximize contributions from all employees and enabling businesses and organizations to succeed in their missions.”
In Congress, Rep. Aaron Bean and Sen. Joni Ernst have been leading DOGE efforts to further curtail government waste and abuse.
Bean, a Republican from Jacksonville, Florida, founded the Congressional DOGE Caucus in November, and Ernst, Iowa, has led the charge to lobby for return-to-work requirements for federal employees and sales of unused or underused federal office space.
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