Trump intensifies crackdown on diversity, immigration

United States President Donald Trump stepped up a crackdown on diversity programs and immigration Wednesday, with the Republican preparing to lay out more of his hardline agenda in an Oval Office interview.

The White House ordered that all federal employees in programs intended to bolster minority groups should be put on paid leave from Wednesday, Trump’s second full day back in power.

The US Justice Department meanwhile threatened to prosecute local and state authorities if they fail to cooperate with Trump’s immigration policies, which include a pledge to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.

The 78-year-old is pushing forward with a blitz of executive actions undoing predecessor Joe Biden’s policies on everything from immigration to gender and climate, as he promises a new “golden age” for America.

“President Trump campaigned on ending the scourge of DEI from our federal government,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement published by NBC News.

Leavitt said billionaire Trump would be “returning America to a merit based society where people are hired based on their skills, not for the color of their skin.”

Conservatives say diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) schemes pushed by Biden discriminate against white people — men in particular.

US government workers in diversity offices must be put on paid leave by 5:00 pm (2200 GMT) Wednesday, Leavitt confirmed.

– ‘Madness’ –

Trump also issued an executive order late Tuesday ending “radical” affirmative action in awarding federal contracts, revoking an order dating back to Democratic President Lyndon Johnson in the 1960s.

He further ordered an end to “DEI madness” when hiring employees for the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), overturning yet another directive by Biden.

Trump was sitting down Wednesday for an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity in the Oval Office which was due to be broadcast at 9pm.

His hardline approach is being followed throughout the new US administration.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove said in a memorandum that federal law “prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing, and otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands.”

Trump declared a national emergency on the Mexican border in one of his first moves on Monday, and has promised raids and the deportation of “millions” of migrants in the country illegally.

Marco Rubio, the new secretary of state, said Wednesday he will rid his department of work on climate and “cultural” issues — a sharp turnaround from the Biden era which named the first-ever US special envoy on LGBTQ rights.

Trump has also thrown red meat to his base by pardoning more than a thousand supporters, including US Capitol rioters, and targeting opponents in a shock-and-awe start to his second presidency.

But there was a rare instance of a split with one key supporter — the world’s richest person Elon Musk, who is set to lead a cost-cutting agency in Trump’s administration.

Musk on Wednesday cast doubt on a $500 billion AI project announced by Trump and a group of other tech barons, saying in a post on his social media platform X that they “don’t actually have the money.”

– ‘Have mercy’ –

The new president has faced defiance from other quarters, including a rare public dressing-down Tuesday from a bishop during the customary inaugural service.

Washington National Cathedral Bishop, Mariann Edgar Budde, told Trump from the pulpit that he was sowing fear among America’s immigrants and LGBTQ people.

“I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now,” Budde said to Trump, who was seated in the church’s front pew.

Trump blasted her on his Truth Social platform early Wednesday, calling her “nasty” and a “Radical Left hard line Trump hater.”

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“She was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart,” said Trump, who demanded an apology.

Trump is meanwhile pushing for quick wins on the international front, where his disruptive approach is already causing shockwaves among allies and adversaries alike.

He told Russian President Vladimir Putin he would have “no choice” but to impose tariff hikes and more sanctions if Moscow does not make a deal to end the grinding Ukraine war.

AFP