The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has placed nearly 60 employees on leave who focused on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and had a combined salary of more than $8 million.
The VA said in a press release Monday that it completed its implementation of President Donald Trump’s executive order to end DEI in the federal government.
Part of the VA’s abolishment of DEI within the agency meant placing on paid administrative leave about 60 employees who were solely focused on DEI activities.
The VA said the combined salary of the employees – including base pay, locality pay and additional earnings – exceeds $8 million, with the average pay being about $136,000 per year, per employee.
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One of the employees had a salary of over $220,000 per year, according to the VA.
In addition to putting the employees on leave, the VA said it identified multiple contracts for DEI-related training, materials and other consulting services that are currently being looked at for cancellation. The combined value of the contracts, the VA said, is more than $6.1 million.
Over the coming weeks and months, the VA said it plans to work on reallocating resources to better support the veterans, families, caregivers and survivors who the agency exists to serve.
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The VA is also taking down DEI-related materials from its digital assets.
“Under President Trump, VA is laser-focused on providing the best possible care and benefits to Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors,” said Morgan Ackley, the VA’s director of media affairs. “We are proud to have abandoned the divisive DEI policies of the past and pivot back to VA’s core mission. We look forward to reallocating the millions of dollars the department was spending on DEI programs and personnel to better serve the men and women who have bravely served our nation.”
The VA joins many other federal agencies that are executing Trump’s plan to end DEI initiatives.
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Trump’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency temporary organization, headed up by tech billionaire Elon Musk, wrote in a social media post on X that about $420 million in current and impending contracts, mainly focused on DEI initiatives, had been canceled.
On the day of his inauguration, Monday, Jan. 20, Trump signed the executive order, and the federal Office of Personnel Management notified heads of agencies and departments that they must begin taking steps to close all DEI offices by the end of the day on Wednesday, Jan. 22, and place government workers in those offices on paid leave. It is not yet clear when or if they will be terminated.
Trump’s order rescinded President Joe Biden’s executive order on promoting diversity initiatives, “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government,” which he signed on his first day in office.
Fox News Digital’s Brie Stimson contributed to this report.
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