Leaders from multiple congressional caucuses, including the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) and the Congressional Equality Caucus (CEC), have strongly criticized President Trump’s early actions in office, highlighting his efforts to roll back civil rights protections and weaken enforcement for American workers. According to CAPAC Chair Rep. Grace Meng, Trump’s policies are opening doors for workplace discrimination, undermining progress made in protecting historically marginalized communities.
Rep. Mark Takano, Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, also condemned the administration’s directives. “Since Day One, President Trump has been undermining civil rights enforcement for American workers,” Takano said, pointing out that the White House has directed federal agencies to abandon efforts to protect LGBTQI+ workers and others from discrimination.
Congressional leaders assert that Trump’s administration is targeting federal offices promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), severely limiting their ability to address systemic discrimination. Rep. Yvette D. Clarke, Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, warned that firing commissioners at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will leave millions of Americans vulnerable to workplace discrimination.
The controversy intensified after Trump signed multiple executive orders aimed at eliminating DEI programs across federal agencies. His administration labeled these programs as promoting a “corrosive identity-based spoils system,” further fueling concerns among civil rights advocates.
As described by Peoplesworld, in response, worker advocacy groups and unions have begun legal actions. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) recently filed a lawsuit, challenging what they call unlawful interference in workers’ rights. AFGE President Clarence Kelley emphasized the critical role of inspectors general in holding the government accountable and expressed concern over Trump’s mass firings of independent oversight officials.
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I’m not sure what’s going on with our Asian American community these days. Please shed some light on this for me. As a 4th gen Asian American whose family has been here since 1847, built out the 10 original Chinatowns, many have served in public office, including me, and I was Chair of FAPAC in the mid 1990s I’m am tremendously surprised and disappointed in how “we” are being projected. Historically, Asian Americans were specifically excluded from all of the major minority rights pieces of legislation. When Elaine Chao was on the admittance team for Harvard in the 1990s, she discovered a deliberate exclusion of Asian Americans throughout the Ivys and top universities in America. Little has changed today in that regard. We are mostly not included in almost all other programs and protections as well. During this most recent presidential election in America, overwhelming and unprecedented support from the black community and the Hispanic community supported Trump due to their realization that the Dem Party historically played them for votes and then abandoned them when it came to meaningful and lasting changes to their communities. However, The “Asian” community according to “AsAm News” has stayed steadfastly supportive of the past dem admins. What’s up with that? Seriously.