Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, AGENCY NEWS—State Department issues fact sheet on ‘Ending DEI Ideology in the U.S. Foreign Service’, (Aug 14, 2026)

By Jason Albright, J.D.

“Under the Trump Administration, the State Department has eliminated DEI ideology from Foreign Service training to better uphold the highest standards of American diplomacy.”

The U.S. Department of State yesterday issued a fact sheet announcing that it has “put an end to the ideologically extreme and discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) agenda,” assertedly “restoring merit, rigor, and accountability to the Foreign Service and refocusing training on practical diplomatic skills that serve the common interests of the American people.” According to the fact sheet, “DEI objectives and materials shamefully denigrated the United States, derided Americans of certain backgrounds, and distracted from legitimate foreign policy objectives that serve the American people.” The asserted policy change, it indicates, was initiated “to better uphold the highest standards of American diplomacy.”

Internal review. “The DEI agenda,” the document says, “was embedded in the institutional culture of the Foreign Service during the previous administration.” Under second Trump administration, however, “A thorough internal review revealed that objectionable DEI content was previously incorporated in training curricula and other personnel materials….” The State Department goes on to describe several examples.

“[E]xtreme Critical Race Theory texts.” The agency describes a “DEI reading list for Foreign Service instructors” that allegedly “included extreme Critical Race Theory texts… that promoted division among America’s diplomats, insulted the American people, and damaged mission effectiveness.”

“[A]llyship.” Guidance on how Foreign Service Officers could fulfill a DEI promotion metric, the fact sheet says, “urged diplomats to discuss DEI issues with high-level foreign government counterparts, demonstrate ‘allyship,’ and ‘acquire more DEIA knowledge on your own’ instead of depending on ‘others from historically marginalized groups to teach you.’”

Discussing white privilege and systemic racism. A DEI toolkit for Foreign Service instructors “included trainings on discussing ‘white privilege’ and ‘systemic racism’ in foreign languages.” Assertedly objectionable trainings encompassed “Let’s Talk About Black Lives Matter in Bangla,” a discussion on systemic racism in Urdu, an exercise on integrating “Black Lives Matter” terminology into Hebrew lessons, and a roleplaying exercise on race and racism in the U.S. and abroad.

Problematic terms. A vocabulary list of DEI terms, the State Department asserts, “instructed State Department officials to avoid using accurate terminology such as ‘illegal alien’ when discussing unlawful immigration, referring to it as a ‘problematic term.’”

“Inclusivity Guide.” Foreign Service course instructors, the fact sheet notes, “received an ‘Inclusivity Guide’ that provided learning materials and DEI guidance to adhere to in the workplace, including a pamphlet promoting ‘international pronoun day,’ rules on incorporating fanciful ‘non-binary pronouns’ (invented terms such as ‘Ze,’ ‘Zir,’ and ‘Zirs’) into course materials, and an article discussing ways to cope with being accused of a microaggression, among other materials that were divisive, damaging to morale, and prejudicial to mission effectiveness.”

Orientation instruction. “A day and a half of dedicated DEI instruction,” the agency continues, “was added to the five-week Foreign Service orientation course and a full day on DEI was incorporated into a five-day Foundations of Public Diplomacy course.”

“[M]icroaffirmations.” Finally, according to the agency, “State Department officials were instructed to practice ‘microaffirmations’ to mitigate their ‘unconscious bias’ and ‘microaggressions.’”

Except by way of these alleged examples, which are not further analyzed, the fact sheet does not specify or define what the agency means by “DEI ideology” or “[t]he DEI agenda.”

“[M]odernization reforms.” The State Department concludes that it “is implementing modernization reforms to the Foreign Service and invites all Americans with the skill and spirit to represent our nation around the world to apply to join the U.S. Foreign Service.”

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