New US administration begins purging US government websites, President Trump says 'it doesn't sound like a bad idea to me'
The current US administration has begun a purge of existing US government websites, with resources including USAID.gov, ForeignAssistance.gov, HealthData.gov, GoodJobs.gov, and ChildrenInAdversity.gov. Reuters reported that this follows various of President Donald Trump's executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, and a memo circulated to government departments last Wednesday ordering federal agencies to «take down all outward facing media (websites, social media accounts, etc.) that inculcate or promote gender ideology.»
A deadline had been set for 5 pm ET last Friday, January 31, for removal of this material. Asked if government websites would be closed while such action was taken, President Trump told reporters, «I don't know. It doesn't sound like a bad idea to me. I think DEI is dead, so [if] they want to scrub the websites, that's OK with me.»
Trump's targeting of government DEI initiatives has been popular among his supporters, while rights advocates say the administration is undoing decades of work in combating discrimination. This particular move follows various government websites disappearing since the new administration took power, examples being ReproductiveRights.gov, which provided information on reproductive health care and sexual health, TargetHIV, which provided information on the disease, and Youth.gov, a site focused on youth aid programs.
«Decades worth of taxpayer-funded reports and analysis gone in an instant,» a USAID staffer told Wired, adding that some employees were trying to archive material while others had been locked out of the system entirely. «We have no idea what is happening behind the scenes or what will be back, when, and in what form.» USAID focuses on overseas humanitarian aid and public health initiatives, and has fallen foul of another Trump executive order reviewing «all foreign assistance programs to ensure they are efficient and consistent with US foreign policy under the America First
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