Outlet reports Trump administration ordered State Department to stop DEI-focused diplomacy and remove bias and “allyship” from training

The Trump administration action at the center of the report concerns training and guidance used by the Department of State for foreign-service officers and related diplomacy work. The Washington Times reported on Aug. 13, 2026 that the State Department has canceled what it described as DEI-centered “diplomacy” materials, including a full day of training dedicated to DEI concepts and discussion prompts for foreign-government engagement.

According to the report, employees were told to mitigate so-called “unconscious bias” and were urged to discuss DEI and “allyship” as part of their conversations with foreign governments. The article also said the training included references to “White Fragility” and “BLM lessons,” and that those elements were removed or to be removed under the administration’s direction.

The outlet framed the changes as a response to what it described as DEI “infection” within internal training and diplomatic guidance, but the State Department has not been identified in the packet with a corresponding official notice or directive confirming the specific training contents or the scope of the cancellation. No White House statement or State Department posting in the provided material directly corroborates the report’s central claims about the training day, the named themes, or the expunging of particular lesson sets.

Officials at the State Department did not appear in the provided record with a transcript, memo, or public statement that describes when the training changes were implemented, which curriculum modules were affected, or whether any alternative training is being used in its place. As a result, the most concrete, publishable account available here is the existence of an internal change described by The Washington Times and attributed to unnamed administration or State Department sources, rather than an independently verified official order in the supplied documentation.

If confirmed by an official State Department communication, the practical effect would be on how Department diplomats are instructed to frame engagement with foreign counterparts, particularly guidance that could influence official messaging in bilateral meetings and multilateral contexts. It could also change the compliance and expectations of foreign-service officers in career training and annual refreshers, including which concepts are presented and which are excluded.

The scope of any legal or policy implications would depend on the final, official text of the revised curriculum and guidance. Because the report involves training topics and diplomatic talking points, questions could arise around the permissible scope of staff instruction, the administration’s authority over Department training content, and whether the removal of particular training materials affects any contractual obligations, equal employment policies, or existing internal diversity and inclusion programs.

For now, the central point that can be stated without official corroboration is that The Washington Times reported that State Department training and “diplomacy” guidance is being rolled back for DEI-centered material during the Trump administration, including lessons and framing described as “White Fragility,” “unconscious bias,” and “allyship,” and that these elements were to be expunged from training. Additional verification from a State Department or White House document would be needed to confirm timelines and the exact curriculum changes.