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The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has been accused of allegedly quietly changing the job title of its former Diversity Officer to President donald trump ordered all federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) employees to be placed on paid leave.
“ATF defied @RealDonaldtrump’s order to place DEI workers on leave, giving their DEI officer a new title. They attack citizens’ rights, ignore leadership, and act as if they are above of the law. Enough is enough. Time to abolish the ATF! “Republican Missouri Rep. Eric Burlison posted on X.
The ATF, a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice umbrella, previously employed Lisa T. Boykin as chief diversity officer before her title was changed on the ATF website this week to “senior executive ” with the ATF. An archived link from the ATF website reviewed by Fox Digital Shows Boykin was listed as the chief diversity officer as recently as Tuesday, Trump’s second day in the Oval Office, and now shows her as the “senior executive” of the agency.
Trump had criticized DEI programs and offices at the federal level, as well as in the education system, throughout his campaign. Taking office on Monday signed an executive order ending “Dei illegal and “diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility” (Deia) require, policies, programs, preferences and activities in the federal government, under whatever name they appear.”
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President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025. (Photo by Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
The next day, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) told agency and department leaders to begin closing DEI offices and placing DEI employees on paid leave.
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The official photo of Lisa T. Boykin for ATF. (ATF)
“Send a notification to all employees of Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility offices (Deia) that are being placed on paid administrative leave effective immediately, as the agency takes steps to close/terminate all Deia initiatives, offices and programs,” the OPM directive, which was obtained by Fox News Digital, read.
A 2023 biography for Boykin detailed that she began working as ATF’s Human Resources Operations Division in 2016 and “as a collateral duty, in 2021, Ms. Boykin also began serving as the Bureau’s chief diversity officer,” it reported. the New York Post.
“With the Office’s continued focus on improving the Deia, Ms. Boykin currently assumes the work of the CDO in a full-time capacity, leading and implementing departmental programs and mandates, while providing renewed vision and effective strategies to maintain an informed Deia culture for the Office,” Boykin’s biography added.
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When asked about the title change and subsequent criticism on social media, an ATF spokesperson responded that the agency has followed the Trump administration’s DEI directives.
The ATF seal. (Photo by Ted Soqui/Corbis via Getty Images)
“ATF began implementing OPM’s initial guidance on Deia immediately after its issuance on January 21, 2025, in response to the Executive orders of the president. “We have proactively taken necessary steps to ensure compliance with this guidance, including placing impacted personnel on administrative leave,” an ATF spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital requested clarification on whether Boykin’s new title protects her from administrative leave but did not immediately receive a response.
Fox News Digital also reached out to Boykin on his ATF email and received an automated response noting he was unavailable to respond.
“I am currently unavailable and unable to return emails at this time,” the email said.
Social media commentators and critics of the Biden administration’s diversity initiatives criticized the ATF employee’s title change on social media, classifying the agency as “circumventing” Trump administration orders.
Biden defended diversity initiatives under his administration, rolling back policies of the First Trump Administration that banned diversity training in government agencies during his first week in office in 2021.
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“In the coming weeks, I will reaffirm the federal government’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and accessibility, building on the work we began in the Obama-Biden administration. That is why I am rescinding the diversity ban on the previous administration and diversity and sensitivity training,” Biden said in January 2021. “Unity and healing must begin with understanding and truth, not ignorance and lies.”
