President Donald Trump has ordered all federal agencies to end critical race theory trainings, which the White House calls “divisive, anti-American propaganda,” a White House statement announced Friday.
Russ Vought, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, was directed by Trump to ensure that all federal agencies cease and desist from holding critical race theory trainings, which have included mandatory sessions for white employees who are tasked with recognizing their role in perpetuating racism.
The days of taxpayer funded indoctrination trainings that sow division and racism are over. Under the direction of @POTUS we are directing agencies to halt critical race theory trainings immediately.https://t.co/dyMeJka9rt
— Russ Vought (@RussVought45) September 4, 2020
“These types of ‘trainings’ not only run counter to the fundamental beliefs for which our Nation has stood since its inception, they also engender division and resentment within the Federal workforce,” the statement says.
As the following steps for the directive are developed, “all agencies are directed to begin to identify all contracts or other agency spending related to any training on ‘critical race theory,’ ‘white privilege,’ or any other training or propaganda effort that teaches or suggests either (1) that the United States is an inherently evil country or (2) that any race or ethnicity is inherently racist or evil.”
“The President has a proven track record of standing for those whose voice has long been ignored and who have failed to benefit from all our country has to offer, and he intends to continue to support all Americans, regardless of race, religion, or creed. The divisive, false, and demeaning propaganda of the critical race theory movement is contrary to all we stand for as Americans and should have no place in the Federal government,” the statement concludes.
The directive comes weeks after leaked documents revealed that Sandia National Laboratories, a federal lab, reportedly hosted a three-day mandatory training for its white male executives where they were instructed to apologize for their privilege, along with other tasks such as acknowledging the connection between “white male culture” and mass killings. (RELATED: Leaked Docs Show US Gov Nuclear Facility Held ‘3-Day Reeducation Camps’ For White Men)
Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley also drew attention to the trainings, directly addressing the “White Men & Allies Learning Lab” paid for by Sandia in an August 13 letter where he urged the Department of Energy to undertake a comprehensive review of its procedures to “ensure that taxpayers are no longer required to fund such divisive and ineffective trainings.”
Similarly, leaked documents also showed that the federal agency United States Agency for International Development (USAID) had distributed manuals to employees to inform them about topics like “gender & sexual minorities,” “microaggression” and “misgendering,” and directing employees to not “make jokes or reinforce stereotypes about LGBTI+ people, such as about behavior or gender expression” which are a “common microaggression.”
