The Department of Labor (DOL) and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have pulled the plug on 25 diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) grants, saving taxpayers a whopping $13.6 million. These grants were set to fund so-called “inclusive environments” for “gender-expansive people” and other left-wing pet projects.
On Tuesday, the DOL and DOGE announced the cuts, which included $716,000 for DEIA materials, training modules, and support networks; $398,000 for gender equity awareness training; and $350,000 earmarked for programs in migrant communities.
Daily on DOGE:
– Top FDA food safety inspector resigns
– Trump admin eliminates CDC infectious diseases advisory committee
– DOGE said the DOL cut "$13.6M in wasteful DEI grants"
See arguments for and against all of DOGE's actions:https://t.co/RSdBmGkpV3
— AllSides (@AllSidesNow) May 7, 2025
A source familiar with the matter said the grants also included funding for several controversial initiatives. One was an “equity summit” designed to create workplace environments tailored for women and “gender-expansive people,” especially those of color, with disabilities or neurodivergence, and people identifying as transgender or underrepresented in tech.
Another cut program targeted underrepresented communities in Greater Houston, Texas, including women of color, immigrant women, transgender women, and justice-involved women. In Mississippi, funds were set aside for a pre-apprentice program and “nontraditional job training” for women, transgender women, and non-binary individuals in the Gulf Coast region.
Great work today by @USDOL, canceling $13.6M in wasteful DEI grants totaling $8.4M in savings, including:
– $716k for “DEIA materials, training modules, and support networks”
– $398k for “gender equity awareness training”
– $350k to “migrant sending or receiving communities”— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) May 6, 2025
Pittsburgh and southwestern Pennsylvania were also set to receive DEI grants to expand workforce recruitment efforts for women of color, LGBTQI+ individuals, and other so-called “marginalized” groups. One canceled project even aimed to address climate change and its “racial, social, and economic” impacts on vulnerable communities.
This isn’t the first time the Trump administration has axed wasteful spending. In March, the DOL canceled $577 million in what officials called “America Last” contracts. These included $12.2 million for “worker empowerment” programs in South America and $6.25 million for “improving respect for workers’ rights” in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador.
DOGE also confirmed other scrapped international grants: $3 million for “safe and inclusive” workspaces in Lesotho; $3 million for migrant worker protections in Bangladesh; $4.3 million for foreign labor assistance in Malaysia; and $5 million to promote “women’s participation” in West Africa.
DOL Spokesperson Courtney Parella summed it up in a statement to Breitbart News:
“We want to focus on getting more women into good-paying jobs based on merit — not funding discriminatory DEI experiments that elevate gender ideology over the real challenges women face in the workforce.”
Under President Trump, the message is clear: merit over ideology, results over rhetoric, and America First—always.