Welp, Donald Trump is on his way out of office and it looks like some of his stupid-ass policies are soon to follow. Remember when the commander-in-insurrection issued an executive order barring federal agencies and contractors from funding anti-racism and diversity training? Well, last month, a federal judge blocked that Orangey-white nonsense, and now, the Labor Department has suspended enforcement of the order.
USA Today reports that the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs will stop investigating agencies suspected of committing the egregious and “un-American” act of...ensuring that bigotry isn’t allowed in the workplace. Also, a hotline set up to collect complaints (I’m guessing against people who want to make sure the Klan doesn’t run its own department at the post office) will no longer be used. Seriously, though: Trump really had these people setting up call centers to make sure nobody was talking about racism inside government buildings he didn’t even work at. Who fights this hard for Americans’ God-given right to be white supremacists?
The order from the Labor Department came after Judge Beth Labson Freeman had the good sense to say that Trump’s war on diversity was the stupidest war of his presidency. Nah, she didn’t say that, but she was probably thinking it.
From USA Today:
Late last month U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman granted a preliminary nationwide injunction in a lawsuit filed by LGBT rights groups in the Northern District of California, saying the groups were likely to prevail on their First Amendment claims.
“Plaintiffs have demonstrated a likelihood of success in proving violations of their constitutional rights,” Freeman wrote in a 34-page order. “Moreover, as the government itself acknowledges, the work Plaintiffs perform is extremely important to historically underserved communities.”
“These actions are a welcome step toward undoing an Executive Order that fails to acknowledge the realities of systemic racism in America, fully undercuts companies’ efforts to promote a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workforce, and that was implemented contradicting all normal federal rulemaking processes,” Megan Petersen, senior director for policy, public sector and counsel at industry trade group ITI, said in a statement.
Critics say Trump’s executive order was a broadside against diversity and inclusion programs seeking to reverse patterns of discrimination and exclusion going back decades. The incoming Joe Biden administration is widely expected to scrap it.
Yeah, Biden is going to have his work cut out for him in cleansing the stench of white nationalism Trump has likely left all over the White House furniture. The ban on diversity training—a thing that resulted in numerous lawsuits and had businesses and even universities suspending diversity programs for fear of losing federal funding—is really only the tip of the racist-and-proud iceberg.
Still, this is a good start. After all, the ban didn’t only affect government agencies, it affected any business, nonprofit or institution of learning that had federal contracts or planned to apply for one. Anyone applying for a federal grant would need to first make sure their establishment provided a bigot-friendly workplace that coddled white tears while telling “snowflakes” they weren’t allowed to openly discuss discrimination or offensive language. I wish I were being hyperbolic.
Anyway, out with the old and racist and in with the new and hopefully less racist. The Orange Menace, his administration and his ridiculous executive orders cant get the boot fast enough.