President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Executive Order 11246 required affirmative action and prohibited federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin. (iStock)

Washington, January 23 (RHC)-- U.S. President Donald Trump has expanded his crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, revoking a 60-year-old executive order, signed by then-President Lyndon B. Johnson, banning hiring discrimination by federal contractors.

On Wednesday, the Trump administration also ordered federal employees to report on their colleagues who refuse to comply with orders to purge DEI initiatives, threatening “adverse consequences” for employees who fail to report their co-workers.  This comes a day after the Trump administration placed employees in any federal DEI offices on immediate administrative leave.

In other news, the U.S. Justice Department has ordered a freeze on all new cases in its Civil Rights Division.  Ongoing cases, including police reform agreements in major cities, will be subject to the discretion of judges.  The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law called it an “unprecedented” move that “should make Americans both angry and deeply worried.”

Separately, the Justice Department has ordered federal officials to prosecute state and local officials who resist the Trump administration’s plans for mass deportations.

[ SOURCE: DEMOCRACY NOW ]