Federal websites shut down temporarily as Trump administration scrubs DEI content

The Trump administration began shutting down federal websites Friday evening, taking them offline temporarily to remove diversity, equity and inclusion content.

Searches of diversity-related web pages resulted in messages such as “page not found” or “content not found” at federal websites, including those for the Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Labor, Department of Interior, Office of Personnel Management, and Federal Bureau of Investigations.

The Trump administration told multiple news outlets that the federal websites would go dark starting at about 5 p.m. ET Friday to remove DEI-related pages as well as any content opposed to President Trump’s agenda.

The effort came in response to a host of executive orders issued by Mr. Trump shortly after his Jan. 20 inauguration, including his Jan. 22 order that “protects civil rights and merit-based opportunity by ending illegal DEI.”

“Individual dignity, hard work, and excellence are fundamental to American greatness,” the order said. “This Executive Order reaffirms these values by ending the Biden-Harris administration’s anti-constitutional and deeply demeaning “equity” mandates, terminating DEI, and protecting civil rights.”

A second order, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” said that the government recognizes two sexes, male and female.

The Office of Personnel Management responded by instructing agencies in a Jan. 29 memo to shut down DEI offices and place staffers on administrative leave by 5 p.m. Jan. 31.

The memo also said that agencies should “Take down all outward facing media (websites, social media accounts, etc.) that inculcate or promote gender ideology” by the deadline.

Federal DEI initiatives are typically described as “DEIA,” an acronym for diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.

— Mr Producer (@RichSementa) January 31, 2025

Those removing DEI content included the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which briefly removed its HIV page as it sought to eliminate content related to gender identity, according to NBC News.

“The process is underway,” an agency staffer told NBC News. “There’s just so much gender content in HIV that we have to take everything down in order to meet the deadline.”

• Stephen Dinan and Dave Boyer contributed to this story.