Democrats demand answers from Trump on ‘unprecedented assault’ on DEI in new letter

EXCLUSIVE: “Donald Trump has taken targeted, calculated steps aimed at dismantling decades of civil rights protections and attempting to send us back to Jim Crow—and he’s done so without transparency, accountability, or due cause,” U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley tells theGrio.

A group of progressive Democrats in Congress is demanding answers from President Donald Trump on his “unprecedented assault” on the nation’s access to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, theGrio is first to report.

The letter to Trump, first obtained by theGrio and led by U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., calls for full transparency of the president’s anti-DEIA executive orders and how they have been implemented.

“Equity-centered programs and the dedicated employees who administer them are deeply necessary to ensure government works for everyone in America. These concepts are neither abstract nor partisan – they are practical commitments rooted in civil rights law and basic fairness,” reads the letter signed by Democrats like Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman, U.S. Rep. Yvette D. Clarke of New York, Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal of Washington, and U.S. Reps. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, Jonathan L. Jackson of Illinois, Summer Lee of Pennsylvania, and Maxwell Frost of Florida.

“This dismissal of equity has inflicted real harm on communities across the country and raised serious concerns about compliance with federal civil rights, accessibility, and equal employment opportunity laws.”

On the first day of his second term on Jan. 20, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order, “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing,” which rolled back an order by former President Joe Biden that advanced DEI across the entire federal government. The Biden order required every federal agency to implement equity action plans to combat systemic racism. Trump’s order rescinding the Biden-era EO describes DEIA as “illegal and immoral discrimination.”

Trump also signed “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” an order that rolls back years-old EOs designed to diversify the federal workforce, including federal contractors, as well as orders targeting so-called gender ideology and reducing the federal workforce.

“Over the last year, Donald Trump has taken targeted, calculated steps aimed at dismantling decades of civil rights protections and attempting to send us back to Jim Crow—and he’s done so without transparency, accountability, or due cause,” Congresswoman Pressley exclusively told theGrio.

“By deliberately rolling back DEIA initiatives, firing federal workers, and intimidating the private sector, everyone suffers from the denial of these essential services. We are demanding a full account on the impact and implementation of these reckless executive actions.” 

In the letter to Trump, Democrats argue that equity-centered programs both in the public and private sectors are necessary to “ensure government works for everyone” and lay out the case for why DEIA are concepts that are “neither abstract nor partisan.”

“Taken plainly, diversity means recognizing all people: from Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color to veterans, rural communities, and low-income families to women, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and people with disabilities,” reads the letter. “Equity means ensuring fair access to opportunities, and inclusion means creating real pathways to the American dream. Finally, accessibility means providing reasonable accommodation so people of all abilities can fully participate in our government, economy, and civic life.”

What’s more, the letter lays out the harms of Trump’s anti-DEIA agenda, including nearly 317,000 federal workers losing their jobs, corporate America retreating from DEIA commitments, and the loss of critical funding for life-saving research on heart disease, HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer’s disease and other diseases that threaten to exacerbate existing health disparities for the country’s most vulnerable communities.

While the Trump administration has repeatedly argued that its rollback of DEIA was to restore fairness and equality for all Americans, the administration has instead embraced a reverse discrimination agenda in support of white Americans, namely white men, who they say have been discriminated against through said DEIA policies. That has called into question whether the administration is truly implementing civil rights laws to protect all Americans, or simply doing so to protect white citizens.

The group of Democrats is demanding that the Trump administration take a series of actions to ensure transparency of the president’s EOs and how they have been implemented. The letter calls for detailed information about the federal workforce affected by Trump’s anti-DEIA orders, including the total number of jobs affected and a detailed list of programs, offices, initiatives, and advisory bodies shuttered as a result. The Democratic lawmakers are also demanding that the Trump administration hand over all internal communications related to the implementation of Trump’s anti-DEIA orders.

“The dismantling of DEIA has been a defining objective of your administration, and the public is entitled to a full accounting. There is no justification for secrecy, and we expect full transparency with this request,” reads the letter.

President Trump’s anti-DEIA orders have faced legal challenges in the federal courts brought by former federal workers, advocacy groups, and municipalities. In one lawsuit brought in Maryland by the City of Baltimore, the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, and the American Association of University Professors.

An appeals court on Feb. 6 rejected a challenge to the president’s anti-DEIA orders but left open the ability for further challenges to how Trump’s orders are implemented.

“President Trump has decided that equity isn’t a priority in his administration and so has directed his subordinates to terminate funding that supports equity-related projects to the maximum extent allowed by law,” Diaz wrote in the ruling from the three-judge panel. “Whether that’s sound policy or not isn’t our call.”

Diaz said he reached his conclusion “reluctantly” but described the Trump administration’s attacks on DEIA as a “sinister story.”

“For those disappointed by the outcome, I say this: Follow the law,” Judge Diaz wrote. “Continue your critical work. Keep the faith. And depend on the Constitution, which remains a beacon amid the tumult.”