Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative to identify trillions in cuts to the federal budget is reportedly considering massive cuts to federal spending on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
DOGE, which is not actually a government department but is closely allied with the incoming Trump administration, is reportedly looking to a report from the right-wing Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty identifying at least $124 billion in annual DEI spending for guidance on the cuts.
The report touches on everything from homeowner assistance and housing vouchers for disadvantaged groups, to agricultural protection funding, to federal contract spending.
It alleges that DEI programs of any kind are “unconstitutional and unlawful, distort the free market through unnecessary regulations, and otherwise waste taxpayer money.”
“That’s been sent down from on high, that all this DEI stuff has to go,” a person familiar with the effort told The Washington Post. “Once all these guys get confirmed and he’s the president on Jan. 20, this is going to happen fast and furious.”
The approach would mark a stark difference from the Biden administration, which supported increasing the share of federal contracts going to minority-owned businesses.
Musk, who has faced multiple lawsuits over alleged racism at his companies, is a vocal critic of DEI work.
“DEI must DIE. The point was to end discrimination, not replace it with different discrimination,” Musk wrote on X in December.
“’Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’ are propaganda words for racism, sexism and other-isms. This is just as morally wrong as any other racism and sexism. Changing the target class doesn’t make it right!”
As DOGE prepares to identify potential cuts, agents representing the initiative have reportedly begun traveling across the country and interviewing staffers at 12 federal agencies.
Musk and Trump have variously described DOGE’s plans as seeking between $500 million and $2 trillion in annual cuts to the federal budget.
The DOGE team, which duplicates existing government anti-waste and fraud efforts within the Government Accountability Office and Office of Management and Budget, has singled out the Internal Revenue Service, Planned Parenthood, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and federal employees who work from home as targets for its planned cuts.
DOGE’s reported anti-DEI cuts mirror the larger backlash against such work in the tech world.
Ahead of Trump’s inauguration, Meta and Amazon have withdrawn from certain DEI initiatives.
The former has also recently added Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO and Trump ally Dana White to its board, in a move seen as an attempt to gain favorable treatment from the new administration.
