Politics
Why Trump was able to pull off such a swift war on diversity
Donald Trump’s move to rapidly eradicate diversity efforts from the federal government marks the culmination of a widespread conservative backlash to the antiracism movement of 2020.
Five years ago, as “END RACISM” was emblazoned on professional football fields and Uncle Ben and Aunt Jemima caricatures disappeared from grocery shelves, a growing number of voters bristled at what they saw as a performative attack that went far beyond that police brutality symbolized by the killing of George Floyd. As hiring managers across the country embraced diversity, equity and inclusion programs, Republicans waged a culture war over the “woke agenda” and rode it to victory, from local school board contests to sweeping Trump back into the White House.
The politics of race has changed in just a few years. And now Trump’s capitalizing on it.
“What a storytelling win for Trump,” said DeRay McKesson, a progressive activist who rose to prominence during the Black Lives Matter protests in Ferguson, Missouri. “That is a failure of storytelling on the left and a huge win on the right.”
On his first day in office as part of a conservative wishlist outlined in Project 2025to assert more control over the federal workforce, Trump declared DEI programs discriminatory and ordered them to be uprooted from government agencies and programs.
Five years ago, it was Democrats who were leading the pro-diversity push, even taking part in photo ops donning kente cloths and kneeling inside the U.S. Capitol to show solidarity with Black Lives Matter protests. Now it finds itself without a cogent plan on how to best stop the president’s DEI blowback at this moment — or how to win back those very voters they needed to stop him.
Trump campaigned on his first-term economy that had record low unemployment for Black and Latino Americans — drawing historically high levels of support among these voters last fall. Now, the first few months of his presidency could be marked by putting Black and brown federal employees out of work.
Hundreds of workers across federal agencies have already been placed on paid administrative leave following the order, including workers at the Department of Education who took part in a voluntary “Diversity Change Agent Program” that was established during Trump’s first term. The president fired high-ranking Democratsat bipartisan agencies responsible for enforcing anti-discrimination laws, raising questions about the policing of discrimination in the private sector.
This week a conservative nonprofit launched a website posting names and photos of employees on its “DEI watch list.” The American Accountability Foundation said it started the website to highlight the prevalence of such roles in government jobs, but critics say it is a means of inviting online harassment to private citizens.
Both the White House and the Office of Management and Budget declined to disclose how many people will be affected by Trump’s executive order to expel DEI from the federal government.
“President Trump campaigned on ending the scourge of DEI from our federal government and returning America to a merit-based society where people are hired based on their skills, not for the color of their skin,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. “This is another win for Americans of all races, religions, and creeds. Promises made, promises kept. It should come as no surprise.”
Diversity programs have been around for decades, but Trump has made them a frequent target of criticism. He blamed “woke generals” last year for the chaotic and deadly U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, repeatedly referred to Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic opponent and the daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants, as a “DEI-hire,” and even implied without evidence that diversity policies played a role in the worst airline crash in two decades and on air traffic controllers who didn’t have the “highest level of intelligence.”
“I just think there’s this sort of white male grievance they’re catering to,” said Debra D’Agostino, a Washington-based employment attorney who has been fielding calls from workers affected by the DEI-related purges from government posts.
The administration’s order threatens to obliterate decades of efforts to reduce bias in hiring for federal government roles aimed at having a workforce that better represents the nation it serves.
These goals — once widely accepted without major controversy — weren’t just about achieving a diverse workforce. Supporters of these types of initiatives say they were about tapping underrepresented talent pools for critical roles and to help administer programs, ranging from helping prospective minority homeowners secure government-backed loans to securing roles in cybersecurity to contributing to STEM fields at the National Academy of Sciences.
But as the post-2020 pendulum swung the other way, conservative activists won early electoral victories. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin credited his upset victory in blue-leaning Virginia to grievances over how elite high schools altered their admissions process in efforts to make it more equitable. Long before it was clear Trump would mount a political comeback, conservative Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis banned the teaching of diversity subjects in public schools. And grassroots groups like Moms For Liberty and Citizens Defending Freedom popped up across the country to win school board elections to alter curricula.
They also won key legal victories — in some cases aided by a Supreme Court that has a six-seat Republican majority, three appointed by Trump himself.
“I think with Trump, the Supreme Court striking down race-conscious admissions at Harvard and University of North Carolina is a huge part of this. It has been taken as license to kill DEI,” said Sherrilyn Ifill, president and direct-counsel emeritus of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
And the court’s historic decision granting presidents immunity for “official acts” — potentially making impeachment the only real limit on presidential power — has further emboldened Trump, Ifill said: “Trump right now is not possible without those two decisions.”
Further dismantling of DEI initiatives are likely to come. Edward Blum, the conservative legal activist who successfully led the affirmative action case against Harvard, wrote in an email that diversity practices had long been “illegal, as well as polarizing,” and that his case has “energized many public interest legal organizations to challenge these practices.”
Democrats are trying to fight back, but the party is still reeling from stinging electoral losses last fall and finds itself locked out of power in Washington.
But critics say Democrats have been flat-footed and slow to respond to an assault on values of a party that has long viewed its multiracial coalition as a strength. This as the party is bleeding support from Black and Latino voters to Trump’s version of the Republican party.
The ripple effects are almost certain to last long beyond the Trump presidency — undoing stability for hundreds of workers who worry about their livelihoods.
“The federal government used to be the safe place to get a job,” said a Black federal worker, granted anonymity to speak freely. “But not anymore.”
President Donald Trump’s primary victory spree has a new $100 million asterisk.
That’s the record-breaking sum the upstart self-funding businessman Rick Jackson spent to defeat Trump’s chosen candidate in the GOP primary for Georgia governor. Jackson’s flood of ads helped drown out Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and other Republicans up and down the ballot, as the billionaire tried to convince voters that he didn’t need Trump’s explicit endorsement to be a true MAGA warrior. In the end, his pitch worked, through persuasion or sheer force.
Tuesday’s result is the latest embarrassing and high-profile blemish in what had been a near-perfect record this year for the president. Just two weeks ago, another Trump-backed candidate — Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa — failed to win his gubernatorial race. And across the map Tuesday he saw mixed success.
Trump-endorsed Rep. Barry Moore cruised in his Alabama Senate runoff, though he had help from a pro-crypto super PAC that spent millions. Trump’s picks in two Oklahoma races are headed to runoffs after failing to surpass 50 percent of the vote in crowded primaries. Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) won the Senate runoff to take on Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, but it was far from a blowout victory and Trump’s 11th-hour endorsement makes it hard to give him full credit for the win.
“The Trump endorsement has an effect, but it’s not overwhelming. It’s not the end-all-be-all for politics in Georgia,” said Jason Shepherd, the former Cobb County Republican chair who supported Jackson in the race.
Jones supporters and Trump allies were quick to blame Jackson’s cash — but some in the lieutenant governor’s orbit also suggested the president didn’t do enough to hit Jackson.
“[Trump] absolutely moved the needle. He just moved the needle 15 points when we needed him to move the needle 25 points,” said a Georgia operative who backed Jones and was granted anonymity to discuss the dynamics of the race candidly.
Trump endorsed Jones early in a crowded race. But while Trump often unloads against his political rivals, he was notably quiet on Jackson, even as he chipped away at Jones’ lead in the polls.
Jackson, a onetime Trump-skeptic turned MAGA ally and Trump donor, tied himself closely to the president on the campaign trail, repeatedly insisting he would be “Trump’s favorite governor.”
“I feel pretty certain that there’s never been a candidate that the president endorsed that got outspent by $90 million in the primary,” said a second GOP operative who supported Jones. Still, the person acknowledged: “If you’re a Jones supporter, you would have loved if the president would have said something bad about Rick Jackson.”
Trump brought Jones on stage at an official White House event in February in the northwestern corner of the state and appeared on a pair of telerallies, but some Jones supporters questioned Tuesday night whether he could have done more to boost his candidacy amid the onslaught of spending from Jackson.
“I’m the only candidate who doesn’t owe a thing to the political establishment,” Jackson said in his election night victory speech. “I don’t care what special interests want, how much they beg, how much they give me. I can’t be bought, and I won’t back down.”
The acknowledgement from some Jones supporters that Trump could have done more to boost his preferred candidate could be a warning in other GOP primaries.
Polling in next week’s South Carolina gubernatorial runoff shows Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette struggling to hold onto her lead as other Republicans in the state rally behind her opponent. In Louisiana, GOP Rep. Julia Letlow succeeded in ousting a Trump foe in Sen. Bill Cassidy, but still needs to defeat state Treasurer John Fleming — also a MAGA ally — in the Senate runoff later this month. And in Oklahoma, Trump’s candidates may need some extra juice from the president to win their August runoffs.
Even before voters hit the polls on Tuesday, Trump-world was working to paint a Jackson win as a win for the movement.
“No matter who wins tomorrow, it’s a victory for MAGA,” Donald Trump Jr. wrote on X Monday afternoon.
Some Trump-world advisers privately scoffed at Jackson’s massive spending and the lengths his campaign and supporters went to project alignment with the president despite not receiving his endorsement. Some of the efforts drew notice among Trump-world advisers, including a mailer that featured a photo of Jackson and the president alongside the line: “Businessmen. Outsiders. Men of action,” as well as a digital video that highlighted Jackson’s $1 million donation to Trump’s political operation.
“Rick Jackson set a record for spending in a statewide Republican primary. He spent Tom Steyer level money in a state the fraction the size of California,” a Trump political operative said. “That’s going to have an impact.”
The president himself didn’t seem to sweat the loss.
“I HAD A LOT OF BIG ELECTION WINS LAST NIGHT. THANK YOU TO ALL!!!” Trump said on Truth Social early Wednesday morning. Just a few minutes later, he worked to take at least some credit for Jackson’s win.
“Congratulations to Rick Jackson, who very successfully campaigned on being ‘TRUMP,’ and won,” Trump wrote.
Georgia Republicans finally have their Senate nominee. Now comes the hard part.
A bruised GOP Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) will go head to head against Democratic incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff, a prolific fundraiser who many Republicans worry will be difficult to beat this November.
While Republicans spent months turning their fire on each other, Ossoff has steadily built his campaign infrastructure — and refined his general election message.
“Anyone who’s being honest knows it’s going to be a very tough race to unseat Jon Ossoff. All the polling shows Georgia as leaning Democrat, not toss-up,” Jason Shepherd, the former Cobb County Republican chair, told Blue Light News before the Tuesday result. He had supported Collins’ opponent, former football coach Derek Dooley.
Heading into the midterms, Ossoff was widely considered one of the most vulnerable Democratic candidates in a state Trump handily won in 2024. But since then, the senator has stockpiled mountains of cash, sailed through his primary unchallenged, and has positioned himself as someone who stays above the fray of partisan cable news hits.
“Ossoff is tricky, he’s good at raising money, he does not step in it,” said one senior RNC official before the runoff, granted anonymity to speak candidly about the midterm landscape.
The race is expected to be one of the most closely watched Senate contests of the cycle. Holding onto Ossoff’s seat is key to Democrats’ narrow path to winning back control of the Senate, while Republicans see flipping it as one of their best opportunities to expand their majority. The state has also become one of the country’s premier battlegrounds, serving as an early test of the forces — and people — that could shape 2028.
Several Republican strategists and operatives say that some of Collins’ hardline policy stances, plus an ongoing House ethics investigation against him, may make him vulnerable to Democrats’ attacks.
They also worry Collins has a lot of catching up to do in the money race.
Collins raised$4.9 million and had just $1.2 million in cash on hand as of May 27, according to fundraising reports. By comparison, Ossoff has raised$60 million and had $32 million left in the bank at the end of April.
“It’s a real severe uphill battle,” said one Republican operative involved in races up and down the ballot in Georgia, granted anonymity to speak candidly about the state’s marquee race.
Collins will require significant help from outside groups, the operative said, but it’s not clear how much will come: “What is the willingness to go all in for Mike Collins? Do they think he can win? Do they think they can get this done? What are those resources going to look like? Because he’s not going to fundraise — I don’t think — very well.”
Collins’ allies argue the bitter primary has prepared him for a brutal general election.
“Jon Ossoff has been, always will be, the most vulnerable Democrat up for reelection. Nobody is more battle tested than Mike Collins after this primary,” said a person close to Collins’ campaign.
Some Democrats suggest they got their preferred candidate in Collins — rather than Dooley, who had the backing of popular Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, which could have helped broaden his appeal across the state.
“Dooley is much less of a political extremist than Collins is and Collins is on the record voting directly for the policies that have devastated Georgians,” said one person aligned with a Democratic PAC involved in Senate elections, granted anonymity to speak candidly. “As for an [opposition] research perspective and in our effort to air out his dirty laundry we have a lot more ammunition with Collins.”
Even President Donald Trump, who made a last-minute endorsement for Collins ahead of Tuesday’s election, had grilled him about his strict stance on abortion, pressing him on how he could win in a general election in one of the nation’s premier swing states. Abortion has become a political vulnerability for Republicans in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Collins already appeared to soften his stance in the final stretch of the runoff. During a 2022 debate for his current House seat, Collins said, “I have always stated and I’ve always been and always will be 100 percent pro-life, period. No exceptions.” Recently on the campaign trail, he said he supports Georgia’s six-week abortion ban, which includes exceptions in cases of rape, incest or to protect the life of the mother.
Ossoff was quick to hammer Collins after his victory, tying him to Trump and assailing him as a “notorious bigot.”
“Collins, who is only a congressman because his daddy was a congressman, voted to double health insurance premiums for more than a million Georgians, for the Iran War, and for the Trump tariffs,” Ossoff said in a statement.
But Democrats know Collins still poses a real threat, even with the wind at their backs. Ossoff won by a razor-thin margin in 2020 over former Republican Sen. David Perdue — a contest that went to a runoff — and Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock (D) won by less than 3 points over Trump-endorsed former football star Herschel Walker in 2022.
“Democrats understand that if a Herschel Walker can get to 49 percent, you know, this is still going to be a battle, and this is still going to be a fight ahead,” said Andrew Heaton, a Democratic strategist and former campaign aide for Warnock.
National Democrats say they are planning to hit Collins hard. Senate Majority PAC, the main Senate Democratic super PAC, has committed $20 million to supporting the incumbent in the general.
National Republican groups have largely been waiting in the wings to get involved in Georgia, held back by Trump’s long silence on the Senate race and a messy, drawn-out primary to determine their nominee. Now, with Collins knighted as their standard bearer to lead the ticket, groups like the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Senate Leadership Fund will face pressure to start spending — fast.
Those two leading Republican groups have already raised $1 million in a “first-of-its-kind joint fundraising operation” put aside for the Republican nominee in Georgia, POLITICO first reported. That’s in addition to the$44 million SLF already committed to Georgia’s Senate race. Collins could also receive a boost from sharing a ticket with billionaire Rick Jackson, who won the GOP gubernatorial primary Tuesday — and has already signaled plans to invest heavily across the state.
“We will have a large field team and field operation. Collins will benefit greatly,” one person familiar with Jackson’s campaign said Tuesday night, granted anonymity to discuss not-yet-finalized plans.
A second Georgia-based Republican operative said “it’s imperative” that resources start flowing to the Senate race. “The general election campaign starts right now, we don’t have a moment to lose,” the operative said just minutes after the primary was called for Collins.
Collins used his victory speech on Tuesday night to preview his attacks on Ossoff’s voting record, tying the Democrat to liberal policies unpopular with many Georgia Republicans.
“This choice in this race is crystal clear: You got a businessman who has delivered results in both the private sector and in Washington … or an out-of-touch, far left liberal who has raised your taxes, made your life more expensive, less safe, and left Georgia worse off,” he said.
How Collins handles the early days of the general election will be key to convincing the skeptics, said one Georgia-based operative unaffiliated with the Senate race, granted anonymity to discuss the landscape.
“A lot of people don’t think he’s gonna have a chance, and that may end up working to his advantage,” the operative said. “I think the race is gonna get very tight once we get into the summer and early fall, but I think that there’s going to be a lot of eyeballs to see how he performs out of the gate.”
Buoyed by the late-stage Trump endorsement, Collins emerged from the primary as the candidate carrying the MAGA mantle. He earned support from several prominent House Republicans, in addition to the powerful Club for Growth and Turning Point Action. His victory on Tuesday night underscored his strength in Georgia’s rural, heavily Republican regions.
But to compete in November, he’ll need to go beyond the MAGA base and win over Dooley’s coalition, which was built on the support of more moderate voters in the metro Atlanta area. Collins said in his victory speech Tuesday that he had spoken to both Kemp and Dooley.
“It’s an uphill battle against Senator Ossoff, but it would have been an uphill fight for anyone,” said Buzz Brockway, a GOP strategist and former state representative in Georgia. “Now Collins needs to unite the GOP behind him, which I think he can do.”
Robert White won the Washington, D.C., delegate Democratic primary, setting him up to represent the United States capital in Congress as its first new delegate in more than 35 years.
White’s victory begins a new chapter for Washington, which has been represented in the House by Democratic Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton since 1991.
He faces no major general election challengers in the deep-blue district and will ascend to a post that gives him a voice, but not a vote, to champion a city that has been roiled by President Donald Trump’s attempts to exert pressure in his second term.
White’s ascension caps off a long career for Holmes Norton — for whom he used to work. Holmes Norton was known as a behind-the-scenes operator in Congress who helped restructure Washington’s finances in the 1990s and brought major federal projects and jobs to the district. Holmes Norton’s signature project was D.C. statehood, elevating it from a Washingtonian pipe dream to a mainstream Democratic issue culminating in House passage of statehood bills in 2020 and 2021.
But Holmes Norton’s visibility and power waned in recent years, and questions about the 89-year-old’s acuity and ability to serve drew a steady stream of headlines in 2025. In October, D.C. police said that Holmes Norton was scammed out of more than $4,000, and an initial police report reportedly described her as having “early stages of dementia.”
A fifth-generation Washingtonian, White has served as an at-large member of the D.C. Council since 2016. He will be Washington’s third delegate since the position was reestablished in 1970.
White ran against primary challenger and fellow Council member Brooke Pinto on a platform focused on increasing affordability and public safety while defending the district’s autonomy — potentially setting him on a collision course with the president.
In an interview with Blue Light News last week, White cast Trump’s crime crackdown in the city, including federalizing the Metropolitan Police Department and deployment of the National Guard and federal immigration agents, as “lawlessness” and “the opposite of public safety.” He also pledged to reintroduce a bill pushed for years by Holmes Norton that would grant command over the D.C. National Guard to the District’s mayor rather than the president.
The contest at times grew ugly. In April, Pinto’s campaign posted to her website a 67-page opposition research dossier about White, including information about his family and finances. White demanded Pinto withdrawal from the race, and Pinto’s campaign replaced the file with a new version that omitted information about White’s family, to whom Pinto apologized.
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