The Trump administration is ordering all federal employees in diversity, equity and inclusion roles placed on paid leave by Wednesday evening, according to a new memo from the Office of Personnel Management.

Trump has called the diversity and inclusion programs “discrimination” and insisted on restoring strictly “merit-based” hiring.

President Donald Trump orders all federal diversity staff be put on leave ‘immediately’ - The move revoked President Lyndon Johnson’s protection of workers against discrimination

Organizations including Walmart, Lowe’s and Meta, have announced they would scale back their commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

"We will forge a society that is colorblind and merit-based," President Donald Trump said in his inaugural address.

The Office of Personnel Management — the government’s top human resources agency – notified federal department heads in a memo that DEI program employees must be notified by 5 p.m. Wednesday

By close of business Wednesday, every single diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) office within the federal government will shut down; email accounts will be suspended.

President Trump has ordered all federal offices to put their diversity, equity and inclusion employees on paid leave by 5 p.m. Wednesday. Mr. Trump signed an executive order Monday claiming that efforts to diversify the federal government were discriminatory.

These employees likely won't return to work: All employees of offices “focusing exclusively on DEIA initiatives and programs” will go on paid administrative leave Wednesday afternoon. Charles Ezell, the Office of Personnel Management’s acting director, directed agencies to submit plans by Jan. 31 to permanently fire the employees.