NASA and State Department Employees Rebrand DEI to Defy Trump’s Orders

President Donald Trump wasted no time in his second term, signing a series of Executive Orders on his first day in office aimed at dismantling Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives across federal government agencies. The orders, which ban the use of federal funds for DEI programs and prohibit training or policies promoting what the administration calls “divisive concepts,” mark a significant rollback of initiatives championed by previous administrations. Trump hailed the move as a return to “merit-based governance,” arguing that DEI efforts foster division rather than unity.

However, Project Veritas has uncovered how some government employees are already plotting to defy these directives, concealing banned initiatives under new names and finding creative ways to “work around the rules.”

🚨 BREAKING: Washington Wordsmiths: @NASA and @StateDept Employees Rebrand DEI to Defy Trump’s Orders

“They cancelled DEI stuff, but people just did it and called it something else. Work around the rules.”

“Just change the word, [DEI], but it means the same thing.” pic.twitter.com/MtIOpuNJhh

— Project Veritas (@Project_Veritas) April 1, 2025

Climate Scientist Renato Braghiere, who works with NASA at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at CalTech, spoke candidly to a Project Veritas journalist about the challenges posed by the new administration’s policies. He explained that Trump’s executive orders not only target DEI but also impose strict guidelines on language in funding proposals, particularly around terms like “climate change,” which the administration has historically downplayed.

“Now we have to be careful with writing proposals with terms like ‘climate change…’ They don’t like that term, they don’t believe that, and they’re probably not going to fund any of that,” Braghiere said. To secure continued funding, he revealed NASA’s strategy: rebranding.

“We can change the term ‘climate change’ to something like ‘natural hazards’ or something like that…”

Meanwhile, at the State Department, Foreign Service Officer Anthony Abate described a similar approach to circumventing the DEI ban. Trump’s executive order specifically prohibits federal agencies from implementing programs that promote DEI frameworks, mandating that all such activities cease immediately and threatening disciplinary action for non-compliance. Abate told Project Veritas how State Department employees are evading the ban through a clever renaming of DEI programs.

“They cancelled DEI stuff, but people just did it and called it something else. Work around the rules. Just change the word, [DEI], but it means the same thing,” he said.

Abate also noted that this isn’t a new tactic. He confessed that during Trump’s first term, the State Department adapted by relabeling programs as “multicultural activities” or “team building.”

The defiance underscores a belief held by some that a “deep state” – an entrenched network of career bureaucrats – operates within the federal government, undeterred by the occupant of the White House. These employees, convinced they know what’s best for the country despite the chief executive’s directives, are leveraging their positions to quietly resist Trump’s agenda.

As Project Veritas once again exposes, these self-assured federal workers are betting on bureaucratic ingenuity to keep their initiatives alive – subverting the president’s authority while keeping their efforts hidden in plain sight.

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SOURCE

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