Trump begins purge of federal workforce

The ReidOut with Joy Reid

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4.5 • 3.1K Ratings

🗓️ 23 January 2025

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Tonight, Joy Reid leads this episode with Donald Trump's efforts to reshape the federal workforce through Project 2025. The program’s architect, Russell Vought, has openly stated his goal of creating a “traumatically affected” environment for federal employees. This comes as Trump’s allies, Enrique Tarrio and Elmer Stewart Rhodes, have regained their freedom, with Tarrio demanding retribution on Alex Jones' show and Rhodes revisiting Capitol Hill to meet his Republican backers. Meanwhile, Trump is pushing for a federal government dominated by white men, beginning with the repeal of Lyndon Johnson’s 1965 Executive Order 11246, which prohibited discrimination by federal contractors. His replacement executive order, signed Tuesday, has already placed diversity, equity, and inclusion employees on paid leave. With grievances about diversity hires fueling these drastic changes, Trump’s vision for America becomes increasingly clear.

Transcript

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0:00.0	We have a lot to get to in the next hour of the readout, including Donald Trump, beginning
0:05.3	his purge of the federal workforce, who Project 2025 architect Russell Vote is hoping
0:11.9	will be traumatically affected by what's in store for them.
0:17.5	That as Trump's extremist militia buddies, Enrique Tario and Elmer Stuart Rhodes are now freemen,
0:24.5	with Tario back home in Miami after demanding retribution on Alex Jones Show and Rhodes heading
0:32.1	right back to the scene of the crime for a visit with his Republican benefactors on Capitol Hill.
0:39.2	This should all just work out great.
0:41.2	But we begin tonight with Make America White Mail dominated again, starting with the federal
0:47.2	government workforce and federal contractors.
0:50.7	Now, you may have noticed a theme, a certain buzzword from Donald Trump and many of his cabinet nominees.
0:57.1	We will forge a society that is colorblind and merit-based.
1:03.5	Ensuring readiness and meritocracy is front and center.
1:07.6	Return our country to the merit system, you know?
1:10.9	We must be the ultimate meritocracy. Yes. Three white men talking about the importance of merit
1:19.4	in roles they're all unqualified for. Donald Trump and his nominee for Defense Secretary
1:25.7	Pete Haguezoff and nominee for CIA director
1:28.8	John Ratcliffe, it's an especially dubious concept for Trump in particular since this self-made man,
1:35.4	in scare quotes, reaped about $413 million from his father, Fred's real estate empire at birth,
1:42.7	and then dodge taxes all along the way of his career.
1:46.0	That Donald Trump has some, you know, feelings about merit and diversity, which according to
1:52.6	Trump and Maga World counts as inherently qualified white men who deserve every job, losing out
1:58.3	to people who are not white men and therefore inherently unqualified
	...

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