51 Officers Targeted, More Firings Possible
The CIA's attempt to fire 51 intelligence officers who held temporary jobs in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs could be the first step in a larger-scale purge of employees at the spy agency. This is according to a lawyer representing the officers and a former official with knowledge of the matter.
The CIA was poised to fire the officers earlier this week, but a federal judge ordered the government to put their termination on hold for five days. The government responded to the judge's order, arguing that Congress has granted the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence "exceptional discretion to terminate the employment of personnel."
The government also cited an agency memo that signaled more firings could be on the way. The memo stated that CIA Director John Ratcliffe "also may determine that it is necessary or advisable in the interests of the United States to terminate the employment of additional employees as necessary to effectuate the direction in" Trump's executive order on ending DEI programs.
Kevin Carroll, who is representing 21 of the 51 CIA and ODNI employees challenging their imminent dismissal, believes this is just the beginning. He suspects these 51 officers are intended to be the initial victims in a much broader purge of the Intelligence Community.
The intelligence officers, in their legal complaint to the court, said they are "nonpartisan" career intelligence professionals who were temporarily assigned jobs on DEI programs. The federal government did not allege any misconduct or poor performance by any of the employees.
Trump's executive order on removing all DEI positions in the federal government did not call for the termination of employees temporarily assigned to those programs, the plaintiffs' complaint stated.
The Trump administration says the president's executive orders ending DEI programs in the federal government and federal contracting are designed to end what it calls a discriminatory policy that allegedly violated Americans' civil rights.
7 Comments
Leonardo
“The fact that a judge had to step in demonstrates the deep flaws in this approach. The purge is alarming and unjust.”
Raphael
“This is nothing short of a politically motivated witch hunt. These career professionals deserve respect, not arbitrary firings.”
Donatello
“This is a dangerous precedent. Using executive orders to target and remove dedicated employees is undemocratic.”
Raphael
“The politicization of employment at the CIA shows how DEI programs are being scapegoated. These firings are baseless.”
Michelangelo
“Firing nonpartisan professionals over a temporary assignment is outrageous. It looks more like a purge than a fair review.”
Leonardo
“It’s sad some view this negatively, but keeping political agendas out of our spy agencies must be a priority.”
Donatello
“These decisions show that our leaders are willing to enforce policies that keep the focus on performance rather than political correctness.”