Happy New Year 2025

Tag: termination

  • DOGE puts DEI on chopping block with termination of over 0M in education department grants

    DOGE puts DEI on chopping block with termination of over $370M in education department grants

    In just 48 hours, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) slashed a whopping $370 million in taxpayer dollars being spent on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) at the Department of Education.

    DOGE, the newly formed department led by Elon Musk to purge spending by the federal government, revealed in a post on X that they terminated 70 DEI training grants within the department.

    According to DOGE, the grants totaled $373 million.

    One grant was reportedly funding training for teachers to “engage in ongoing learning and self-reflection to confront their own biases and racism, and develop asset-based anti-racist mindsets,” the cost-cutting department said.

    DOGE SLASHES OVER $100M IN DEI FUNDING AT EDUCATION DEPARTMENT: ‘WIN FOR EVERY STUDENT’

    Elon Musk has been slashing costs at the Department of Education. (Getty Images)

    Over the past several weeks, DOGE has announced the canceling of various streams of funding to DEI in education, including $9.7 million for UC Berkeley to develop “a cohort of Cambodian youth with enterprise driven skills.”

    DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION WARNS THAT PUBLIC SCHOOLS MUST REMOVE DEI POLICIES OR LOSE FEDERAL FUNDING

    The latest spending sweep comes just days after DOGE announced the termination of another 89 DOE contracts totaling $881 million, which included more than $100 million in DEI grants. 

    US Department of Education

    The Department of Education building is seen on Aug. 21, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)

    “Hurrah” Heather Higgins, CEO of Independent Women’s Voice, wrote in a post on X in response to the latest DOGE cuts.

    The Education Department has been cracking down on DEI practices in education, ordering all 50 state education departments last week to remove DEI policies within 14 days or risk losing federal funding.

    trump musk x in oval

    President Donald Trump, right, speaks as Elon Musk listens in the Oval Office at the White House on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Alex Brandon)

    The letter said the “overt and covert racial discrimination that has become widespread in this nation’s educational institutions” will no longer be tolerated.

    CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
    “The law is clear: treating students differently on the basis of race to achieve nebulous goals such as diversity, racial balancing, social justice, or equity is illegal under controlling Supreme Court precedent,” the letter reads.

    Fox News’ Landon Mion contributed to this report.

    Aubrie Spady is a Writer for Fox News Digital.

  • EPA workers receive termination warning letter

    EPA workers receive termination warning letter

    National Review staff writer Caroline Downey and Right Turn Strategies consultant Rob Smith discuss Americas growing contempt for Washington politics on Making Money.

    Some workers at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have received a letter from the agency warning them that they may face termination amid the Trump administration’s efforts to scale back the government, FOX Business has learned.

    The email, which was sent to 1,100 EPA employees on Wednesday according to the email reviewed by FOX Business, notifies workers that they were deemed to be on probationary status or are in a trial period as an employee and could be terminated immediately.

    It instructs recipients to respond to an EPA email address only if they have one or more years of previous civilian service or are a veteran – though it warns that “confirming that one or more of these categories applies to you is not determinative of your probationary/trial period status. Each employee’s status will be determined individually.”

    “As a probationary/trial employee, the agency has the right to immediately terminate you pursuant to 5 CFR § 315.804,” the email explained. “The process for probationary removal is that you receive a notice of termination, and your employment is ended immediately.”

    TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OFFERS BUYOUTS TO FEDERAL EMPLOYEES, INCLUDING REMOTE WORKERS: ‘DEFERRED RESIGNATION’

    WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 21: The United States Environmental Protection Agency building is seen on August 21, 2024 in Washington, DC.  (Tierney L. Cross/Getty Images / Getty Images)

    The email notes that EPA workers who are considered to be on probationary status or in a trial period may have the right to appeal their termination to the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) based on Office of Personnel Management (OPM) rules.

    Whether or not EPA employees have a right to appeal their removal “will depend on whether you meet the definition of an ’employee’ under the law… and whether you meet the requirements of any OPM regulation that grants appeal rights,” the email explained.

    SEN. KAINE CLAIMS TRUMP WILL ‘STIFF’ FEDERAL EMPLOYEES WHO TAKE BUYOUT OFFER: ‘DO NOT BE FOOLED’

    President Donald Trump speaks about the mid-air crash between American Airlines flight 5342 and a military helicopter

    President Donald Trump’s administration is moving to scale back the federal workforce as part of a cost-cutting push.  (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

    The EPA’s email warning probationary and trial period employees of their potential termination comes as the Trump administration is seeking to shrink the federal workforce as part of a cost-cutting push spearheaded by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) while also bringing workers on telework programs back into the office.

    On Tuesday, OPM sent a government-wide email offering buyouts to certain federal employees as part of a program that’s scheduled to run from Jan. 28 until Feb. 6. As part of the initiative, federal workers can choose to resign under the program while retaining all pay and benefits, regardless of workload, and be exempt from in-person work requirements until Sep. 30, 2025.

    TOP DOGE LAWMAKER SAYS TRUMP ‘ALREADY RACKING UP WINS FOR TAXPAYERS’ WITH EFFICIENCY INITIATIVES

    Elon Musk

    SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk is serving as the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). (Samuel Corum/Getty Images / Getty Images)

    Federal workers who choose to take the buyout and deferred resignation will also continue to accrue personal leave and vacation days that will be paid out at their final resignation date, even though the workers won’t be required to work during the deferral period. They may continue to accrue federal retirement benefits during that period and can also get a second job.

    The buyouts don’t apply to military personnel of the armed forces, the U.S. Postal Services, positions related to immigration enforcement and national security, and any other positions specifically excluded by the agency the federal workers are employed by.

    GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

    “The federal workforce is expected to undergo significant near-term changes,” OPM explained in a frequently asked questions document linked to the letter. “As a result of these changes (or for other reasons), you may wish to depart the federal government on terms that provide you with sufficient time and economic security to plan for your future – and have a nice vacation.”