ATF accused of 'circumventing' Trump order to place DEI staff on paid leave
2025-01-24
Category: political

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has been accused of allegedly quietly changing the job title of its former diversity officer as President Donald Trump ordered&nbsp;all federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) employees be placed on paid leave.&nbsp; "The ATF defied @realDonaldTrump’s order to place DEI workers on leave, instead giving their DEI officer a new title. They attack citizens’ rights, ignore leadership, and act as though they’re above the law. Enough is enough. Time to abolish the ATF!" Republican Missouri Rep. Eric Burlison posted to X.&nbsp; The ATF, a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice’s umbrella, previously employed Lisa T. Boykin as its chief diversity officer before her title was changed on the ATF’s website this week to "senior executive" with the ATF. An archived link of the ATF’s website reviewed by Fox Digital shows Boykin was listed as the chief diversity officer as recently as Tuesday – Trump’s second day in the Oval Office – and now shows her as working as the agency's "senior executive."&nbsp; Trump had railed against DEI programs and offices at the federal level, as well as in the education system, throughout his campaign. Upon taking office on Monday, he inked an executive order terminating ​​"illegal DEI and 'diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility' (DEIA) mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities in the Federal Government, under whatever name they appear." TRUMP REVOKES BIDEN ORDER ALLOWING TRANSGENDER TROOPS IN BID TO RID DEI FROM MILITARY  The following day,&nbsp;the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) told agency and department leaders to begin shutting down DEI offices and to place DEI employees on paid leave.&nbsp; TRUMP'S DISMANTLING OF DEI IS DEEPER AND BIGGER THAN YOU EVEN KNOW  "Send a notification to all employees of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) offices that they are being placed on paid administrative leave effective immediately as the agency takes steps to close/end all DEIA initiatives, offices and programs," the OPM directive, which was obtained by Fox News Digital, read.&nbsp; A biography for Boykin from 2023 detailed that she began working as ATF’s Human Resources Operations Division in 2016 and "as a collateral duty, in 2021, Mrs. Boykin also began serving as the Bureau’s Chief Diversity Officer," the New York Post reported.&nbsp; "With the Bureau’s continued focus on enhancing DEIA, Mrs. Boykin currently assumes the work of the CDO in a fulltime capacity, leading and implementing departmental&nbsp;programs and mandates, while bringing renewed vision and effective strategies to maintain an informed DEIA culture for the Bureau," Boykin’s bio added. WHITE HOUSE OPM ORDERS ALL DEI OFFICES TO BEGIN CLOSING BY END OF DAY WEDNESDAY When asked about the title change and subsequent criticism on social media, an ATF spokesman responded that the agency has followed DEI directives from the Trump administration.&nbsp;  "ATF began implementing OPM’s Initial Guidance on DEIA immediately after its issuance on January 21, 2025, in response to the President’s Executive Orders. We have proactively taken the necessary steps to ensure compliance with this guidance, including by placing impacted personnel on administrative leave," an ATF spokesman told Fox News Digital.&nbsp; Fox News Digital asked for clarification on whether Boykin's new title protects her from administrative leave but did not immediately receive a reply.&nbsp; Fox News Digital also reached out to Boykin on her ATF email and received an automatic response noting she was unavailable to reply.&nbsp; "I am currently unavailable and unable to return e-mails at this time," the email read.&nbsp; Social media commenters and critics of the Biden administration’s diversity initiatives slammed the ATF employee’s title change on social media, clamming the agency is "circumventing" the Trump administration's orders.&nbsp; 3 IN 10 VOTERS THINK ENDING DEI PROGRAMS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT, POLL SHOWS, AS FEDERAL DEADLINE LOOMS   Biden championed diversity initiatives under his administration, rolling back the first Trump administration's policies that banned diversity training in government agencies during his first week in office in 2021.&nbsp; CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP&nbsp; "In the weeks ahead, I will be reaffirming the federal government’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and accessibility, building on the work we started in the Obama-Biden administration. That’s why I’m rescinding the previous administration’s harmful ban on diversity and sensitivity training," Biden said in January of 2021. "Unity and healing must begin with understanding and truth, not ignorance and lies."