MedPage today story.
Of the five major HHS agency offices dedicated to health equity, only one has closed its website amid President Trump's executive order ending the federal government's diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives.
FDAThe Office of Minority Health and Health Equity's website was taken down, although it remained operational as of last Thursday.
Websites remain open for the following agencies:
- HHS Office of Minority Health
- content management system Office of Minority Health
- US National Institutes of Health National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
- CDC Office of Health Equity
website for health resources & The Health Services Administration's Office of Health Equity (HRSA) was also closed.
However, it is unclear whether the executive orders apply only to DEIA initiatives targeting the federal health workforce or to initiatives by these agencies to improve health equity in the general population. If this is not the case for publicly available programs, it is unclear why the FDA and HRSA removed these websites.
Few agencies responded to requests for comment from MedPage today. The NIMHD press office declined an interview request.
Last week, Trump issued two executive orders on DEIA. There was one termination President Biden's executive order aimed at promoting DEIA among the federal workforce. Another called for an end to “all discriminatory programs, including unlawful DEI and federal government mandates, policies, programs, preferences and activities, by whatever name they appear.”
The order requires agencies to cease all DEIA-related offices and positions, programs, grants and contracts within 60 days.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) sent a memo to department heads, which was shared MedPage todaywhich outlines “steps to close DEIA agency offices.”
Agency directors were given a deadline of 5:00 pm ET last Wednesday to notify all their employees of the closure, and also ask colleagues to come forward if they notice any “coded or inaccurate language” that could “disguise” DEIA initiatives.
The memo included a template that agency heads could use to send to their employees, which HHS used in an email to employees that it shared with employees. MedPage today. HHS used the template almost verbatim, including the part about coding, noting that “there will be no adverse consequences to reporting this information in a timely manner. However, failure to provide this information within 10 days may result in adverse consequences.”
The email also included a boilerplate line about DEIA initiatives: “These programs have divided Americans along racial lines, wasted taxpayer money, and resulted in shameful discrimination.”
The OPM memo also calls on agency heads to notify all DEIA office employees that they are being placed on paid administrative leave immediately and that they will have to close all “external media,” specifically websites and social media.
Finally, by January 31, OPM requires all agency directors to have “a written plan to reduce the number of employees working in the DEI office.”
Even though it is unclear whether HHS's health equity offices will be closed, DEIA language has been removed from some agencies' websites. STAT reported that there were 10 examples of DEIA-related pages found on the FDA website that were removed. This included a page dedicated to the equity initiative at the Oncology Center of Excellence, as well as the Office of Equity and Innovation at the Center for Devices and Radiological Health. Other missing pages also included a draft guide to clinical research diversity and a podcast on health equity. STAT reported.
The National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases also removed language about DEI goals from some mission statements, and the NIH removed websites dedicated to the health of sexual and gender minorities. STAT marked.
Meanwhile, at the Department of Veterans Affairs boasted in a press release on Monday it placed nearly 60 DEIA employees on administrative leave, saving the agency more than $8 million in combined annual salaries. It also identified DEIA-related contracts totaling more than $6.1 million that it is seeking to void.
