The Department of Education (DOE) is canceling more than $100 million in grants to fund diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training as part of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) sweep of “wasteful” spending.
DOGE, the department led by Elon Musk to cut costs within the federal government, announced the termination of 89 DOE contracts totaling $881 million in a post on X Monday night.
Of the nearly $1 billion, DOGE identified $101 million that was being used for DEI training, including teaching educators to “help students understand/interrogate the complex histories involved in oppression, and help students recognize areas of privilege and power on an individual and collective basis.”
“Your tax dollars were spent on this,” Musk wrote of the DOE spending.
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According to DOGE, the education department spent another $1.5 million on a contractor to “observe mailing and clerical operations” at a mail center, which was also terminated in the recent spending sweep.
“DEI was never about ‘equity’—it was about enforcing ideological conformity and institutionalizing discrimination. Shutting down these wasteful, divisive programs is a win for every student,” Nicki Neily, founder and president of Parents Defending Education, said in response to the spending cut.
“More states need to follow suit,” Neily said.
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Erika Donalds, wife of Republican Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, also wrote in response that “the kids can’t read.”
DOGE has been leading efforts to vacuum spending within the DOE, announcing in early February the termination of three grants including one funding an institution that had reportedly “previously hosted faculty workshops entitled ‘Decolonizing the Curriculum.'”
In his first slew of executive orders, President Donald Trump launched a federal review of DEI teachings and practices in educational institutions receiving federal funding.
Amid the Trump-Vance crackdown on certain teachings, several colleges, such as Missouri State University and West Virginia University, have begun closing their DEI offices.
Fox News’ Charles Creitz contributed to this report.
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