Rick's Blog

Trump Day 2: Ending DEI, Tariff on China, more on pardons

Rick Outzen

I am doing my best to bring the most recent executive orders and other actions of the Trump administration. In this post, I ask that you read the Axios report on the behind-the-scenes of the pardon decision: “F–k it: Release ’em all”: Why Trump embraced broad Jan. 6 pardons.

Jan 21 Presidential Executive Orders

ENDING ILLEGAL DISCRIMINATION AND
RESTORING MERIT-BASED OPPORTUNITY

This executive order focuses on ending DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives in federal government and discouraging them in the private sector. Here are the key points:

  1. It revokes several previous executive orders related to diversity, environmental justice, and equal employment opportunity initiatives, including EO 12898, 13583, 13672, and 11246.
  1. It directs federal agencies to:

– Terminate all DEI-related programs, policies, and guidance
– Streamline federal contracting processes
– Remove DEI requirements from federal contracts
– Stop promoting “affirmative action” in federal contracting

  1. For federal contractors, it requires:

– Certification that they don’t operate DEI programs that violate federal anti-discrimination laws
– Compliance with civil rights laws as a material condition for payment

  1. The Attorney General must submit a report within 120 days that:

– Identifies key sectors of concern
– Lists “egregious” DEI practitioners
– Proposes investigations of large corporations, universities, and organizations
– Recommends enforcement strategies

  1. The Department of Education and Attorney General must provide guidance to educational institutions regarding compliance with the Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard case.
  1. The order includes specific exemptions for:

– Veterans’ preferences
– First Amendment-protected speech
– Academic instruction about DEI practices
– Randolph-Sheppard Act beneficiaries

KEEPING AMERICANS SAFE IN AVIATION

The order focuses ont the hiring practices at the Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration. It has three main components:

  1. An instruction to revert to merit-based hiring practices and discontinue DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives
  1. A mandate to rescind preference-based policies in favor of evaluating employees based on individual capability, competence, achievement, and dedication
  1. A requirement for leadership to review performance standards and past performance of individuals in critical safety positions, with instructions to replace underperforming individuals with highly capable personnel to ensure air safety and efficiency

New York Times on Jan. 6 pardons:

Trump gave clemency to more than 1,500 people who participated in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Prosecutors had video and photographic evidence of their crimes. The offenders include:

  • Stewart Rhodes and his far-right militia group, the Oath Keepers, helped orchestrate the riot. He and his followers said over text messages beforehand that Chinese agents had infiltrated the U.S. government and that Joe Biden might cede control of the country to the United Nations. Prosecutors said Rhodes had placed a “quick reaction force” of heavily armed Oath Keepers in a Virginia hotel — to rush into Washington with their weapons if called upon. A jury convicted him of seditious conspiracy, which requires proof of violent force against the government. A judge sentenced him to 18 years in prison.

 

  • Julian Khater blasted chemical spray at a group of officers as the mob overran the police on the west side of the Capitol. One of the officers, Brian Sicknick, died the next day. A judge sentenced Khater to nearly seven years in prison.

 

  • Albuquerque Cosper Head grabbed Officer Michael Fanone around the neck and told a crowd, “I got one!” Head then dragged Fanone down the Capitol steps and into the mob. Rioters beat, kicked and shot Fanone with a stun gun. A judge sentenced Head to seven and a half years in prison.

 

  • Daniel Rodriguez fired the stun gun at Fanone’s neck, twice. He also sprayed a fire extinguisher at the police and shoved a wooden pole at a line of officers. A judge called him a “one-man army of hate” and sentenced him to more than 12 years in prison.

 

  • David Dempsey punched and kicked police officers and attacked them with a flagpole, crutches, broken pieces of furniture and pepper spray. A judge sentenced him to 20 years in prison.

 

  • Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the far-right Proud Boys, helped plan the attack. (He was not actually at the riot; officers arrested him days earlier for setting fire to a church’s Black Lives Matter banner.) A jury convicted him of seditious conspiracy, and a judge sentenced him to 22 years in prison.

Alan Feuer detailed the defendants’ crimes, and the type of clemency they received, in this article.

AXIOS has the behind-the-scenes of the pardon decision: “F–k it: Release ’em all”: Why Trump embraced broad Jan. 6 pardons.

Other news:

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