US federal websites stay up after confusion over plan to remove diversity information

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. government websites were online and accessible on Friday, and the Office of Personnel Management said media reports that the sites would be taken offline were based on misinterpretation of a memo.

The memo dated Wednesday had ordered federal agencies to scrub mentions of “gender ideology” from contracts, job descriptions and social media accounts in line with President Donald Trump’s executive order requiring the government to recognize only two sexes.

The memo gave guidance on carrying out the executive order.

A source had previously said most government sites would not be available after 5 p.m. ET on Friday then clarified that the time was a deadline for removal of diversity-related content.

An OPM spokesperson added: The memo “may have been misinterpreted to mean we would shut down government websites who weren’t able to comply but that is not the plan for continuing to implement this important effort.”

Asked earlier if government websites would be shut down while information on diversity, equity and inclusion was removed, Trump told reporters: “I don’t know. It doesn’t sound like a bad idea to me.”

He added: “I think DEI is dead, so (if) they want to scrub the websites, that’s OK with me.”

Trump has moved quickly to quash federal diversity initiatives since taking office on Jan. 20. While Trump’s orders have been celebrated by some supporters, they drew criticism from rights advocates who fear he is rolling back progress the United States has made to overcome discrimination.

(Reporting by Steve Holland, Raphael Satter and Kanishka Singh in Washington; writing by Costas Pitas; editing by Rami Ayyub and Cynthia Osterman)