The Trump administration has made it clear that combatting “illegal DEI” is a priority. Indeed, on the first full day after his inauguration, President Trump issued an executive order targeting “Illegal DEI” in the private sector. In early February, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memo directing the U.S. Department of Justice’s positions with respect to DEI. Now, the newly appointed head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division has issued a separate memo identifying the division’s priorities, with DEI topics given precedence, clearly marking DEI as a DOJ Civil Division enforcement authority, with important implications for companies.   

Background

On January 21, 2025, the first full day of his current presidency, Donald Trump issued Executive Order 14173, entitled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” which characterizes DEI as illegal and discriminatory and directs every federal agency to identify ways to deter DEI in the private sector. The Executive Order also calls for deployment of the False Claims Act against contractors and grantees who maintain illegal DEI practices.

On February 5, 2025, Attorney General issued a memorandum directing the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division to” investigate, eliminate, or penalize companies in the private sector and educational institutions that receive federal funds” that maintain “illegal DEI preferences.” 

The Civil Division Memo

On June 11, 2025, Brett Shumate, newly confirmed head of the DOJ’s Civil Division, issued a memo identifying the Civil Division’s top five enforcement priorities. with DEI at the very top of the list. The Civil Division Memorandum identifies five priorities: (1) combatting discriminatory practices and policies; (2) ending antisemitism; (3) protecting women and children; (4) ending sanctuary jurisdictions; and (5) prioritizing denaturalization of naturalized citizens.

With respect to the first priority, the memo states that the Civil Division plans to use “all available resources” to combat illegal DEI practices, specifically bringing suits under the False Claims Act and “aggressively investigating” recipients of federal funds. The Civil Division’s priority of combatting discrimination stands out because the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, not the Civil Division, traditionally has been responsible for enforcing the civil rights laws.

In advancing these priorities, the memo directs the Civil Division to file suit under the False Claims Act against entities engaged in “illegal DEI” practices. The memo fully instructs the Civil Division to fully cooperate with the Civil Rights Division, relators (that is, claimants in False Claims Act actions), other whistleblowers, and federal agencies to pursue these claims. A June 24, 2025, memo from the Freshfields law firm about the Civil Division memo advises companies to “be mindful” of the Attorney General’s February memorandum that directed the Department to consider criminal charges related to DEI.

The Freshfields law firm’s memo concludes by noting that “In 2025, DEI is not simply an employment law issue.” In light of the June 11 Civil Division memo, along with the earlier memo from the Attorney General, and the White House executive orders, the law firm memo notes that “whether companies have already evaluated their DEI initiatives this year or not, they should consider taking stock now to gauge their potential exposure to FCA whistleblower …or other claims.”