NASA Employees Ordered to 'Drop Everything' and Scrub DEI-Related Text From Websites: Report

NASA is reportedly removing all terms from its website related to accessibility, indigenous people, women and other topics relating to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) following Trump's DEI ban.

NASA employees received a memo on January 22 in which they were instructed to "scrub" the website of DEI-related terms or phrases by the end of the day, reported 404 Media.

"This is a drop everything and reprioritize your day request," the memo read. "Note that the list below is the list that exists this morning, but it may grow as the day goes on."

Specifically, employees were told to remove phrasing relating to diversity, equity and inclusion programs (DEI), underrepresented groups/people, environmental justice and "anything specifically targeting women (women in leadership, etc.)," said the memo.

"We were absolutely required to scrub all DEI-related or DEI-adjacent topics and terms from all external websites by 5 pm the 22nd, which was a drop everything and get it done task," a NASA employee told 404 Media anonymously.

The agency's website no longer includes previous mentions of landmark events within the institution's history. These milestones, such as a 2023 article referencing NASA's 1978 class of astronauts that included the first female, Black and Asian-American astronauts, have all been removed from the website.

NASA previously ended its diversity programs and canceled diversity-related contracts after President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled "Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing," aiming to shut down federal DEI offices.

"These programs divided Americans by race, wasted taxpayer dollars, and resulted in shameful discrimination," NASA's acting administrator Janet Petro wrote in the memo.