Trump Administration Pauses Federal Websites Amid DEI Content Removal

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trump administration temporarily paused most federal government websites starting at 5 p.m. ET on Friday, according to a source familiar with the matter. The move, first reported by CBS News, came amid reports of websites being scrubbed of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) content.

Shortly after the deadline, the U.S. Census website went down for some users, though it was unclear how many other federal sites were affected. The Treasury and State Department websites remained operational. The exact nature and duration of the pause were not immediately clarified.

When asked earlier in the day whether government websites would be shut down to remove DEI content, former President Donald Trump told reporters, “I don’t know. It doesn’t sound like a bad idea to me.” He added, “I think DEI is dead, so (if) they want to scrub the websites, that’s OK with me.”

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) website appeared to go offline temporarily but was later restored. Other government websites remained accessible. Meanwhile, public health data vanished from some sites, entire webpages went blank, and employees removed pronouns from email signatures as federal agencies rushed to comply with a directive tied to Trump’s order reversing protections for transgender individuals.

In a memo sent Wednesday, the Office of Personnel Management instructed agency heads to eliminate “gender ideology” from websites, contracts, and emails by 5 p.m. Friday. The directive also required agencies to disband employee resource groups, terminate related grants and contracts, and replace the term “gender” with “sex” on government forms.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.