At least 18 of the FBI’s field office chiefs have been removed under the second Trump administration, according to current and former officials cited by MSNBC — with nearly half of those ousted being women, minorities, or both.
The latest departure involves a Pakistani American woman who led the Salt Lake City field office, three FBI officials told the outlet. Additional senior officials have also been removed or pushed into early retirement. As of last year, 21% of the FBI’s 56 field offices were led by women, up from 7% in 2002, the outlet reported. (RELATED: Texas Roadhouse Faces Civil Rights Complaint Over Alleged DEI Hiring Discrimination)
“The suggestion that Kash Patel — the first Indian-American to ever be confirmed as FBI director — is somehow targeting minorities in the Bureau is one of the most absurd claims I have ever heard,” FBI spokesman Ben Williamson told MSNBC.
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 25: FBI Director Kash Patel appears during a Senate Committee on Intelligence Hearing on March 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Williamson further said the agency’s personnel decisions are based solely on “merit and job performance,” and declined to discuss individual cases.
The FBI is also reinstating a physical fitness requirement dropped decades ago — mandating that trainees complete at least one strict pull-up, the outlet reported.
Six special agents in charge (SACs) and a field office intelligence chief were removed after Trump took office, current and former FBI officials told MSNBC. Among them were two white women, two black women, one black man, one Asian American man and one white man. A female intelligence chief in the Washington field office was also reportedly asked to leave.
The departures follow President Donald Trump’s January executive order, which bars the federal workforce from factoring DEI-related considerations into hiring or evaluations.
“Federal employment practices, including Federal employee performance reviews, shall reward individual initiative, skills, performance and hard work,” the order reads, “and shall not under any circumstances consider DEI or DEIA factors, goals, policies, mandates or requirements.” (RELATED: Plurality Of Voters Support Eliminating DEI Programs Amid Trump’s Crackdown)
The Department of Education has also moved to dismantle DEI programs, scrapping internal guidance and training materials that reference DEI and disbanding its Diversity and Inclusion Council.
Many of the initiatives stemmed from former President Joe Biden’s executive order “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.”
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