Trump Admin Spending Over $1 Million to Recruit ‘Diverse’ Talent

In March, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) updated its website to list nearly two dozen payments for “diverse” recruitment to Howard University, a historically Black college, awarded on behalf of the U.S. Department of State.

Newsweek reached out to the State Department and Howard University for comment.

Why It Matters

DOGE, run by the unelected billionaire Elon Musk, has drawn both praise and consternation for cutting federal budgets and monies since President Donald Trump took office again in January.

As of Wednesday, April 16, DOGE estimates it has saved approximately $155 billion for the nation, combining different components including asset sales, contract/lease cancellations and renegotiations, fraud and improper payment deletion, grant cancellations, interest savings, programmatic changes, regulatory savings, and workforce reductions. American individual federal taxpayers, of which DOGE estimates there are about 161 million, are purportedly saving $962.73.

What To Know

DOGE records reviewed by Newsweek show 21 modifications on the site’s “payments” section made on March 7.

Each modification shows the State Department as the agency providing funding, in this instance, to Howard University in Washington, D.C., in the total amount of approximately $1.34 million.

One line-item costing $332,740 is for the following: “TO RECRUIT DIVERSE TALENT FOR THE USG FOREIGN SERVICE. THIS IS THE FIRST INSTALLMENT.”

Another item costing $38,241 says: “DIVERSITY RECRUITMENT PROGRAM TO INCREASE THE REPRESENTATION OF DIVERSE GROUPS IN THE FOREIGN SERVICE.”

A $302,348 price tag is labeled next to this: “TO INCREASING THE REPRESENTATION OF DIVERSE GROUPS IN THE FOREIGN SERVICE.”

It remains unclear what the payments from the State Department to Howard University signify, or what the funds are going toward.

A note on the site says, “The payments listed here have been approved by the applicable agency and funds have been disbursed; DOGE has not approved nor disapproved any of these payments.”

On January 5, or 15 days before Trump officially stepped into the White House and signed an executive order giving authority to Musk and DOGE, the DOGE X account critiqued the Departments of Health and Human Services, Agriculture and Labor for “using taxpayer dollars to fund DEI initiatives.”

“The State Department requested $73.6 million for DEI for 2025,” the post said.

On Tuesday, the Trump administration made a Musk lieutenant, Jeremy Lewin, acting head of foreign assistance and now gives a high formal position to a DOGE official, according to a senior U.S. official who spoke to the Associated Press.

Lewin takes his new role after former Trump appointee Pete Marocco, who was lauded for eliminating staff, funding and programs at USAID, departed.

What People Are Saying

Elon Musk in March about DOGE efforts: “This is a revolution and I think it might be the biggest revolution in the government since the original revolution.”

Mark Cuban, entrepreneur and investor, highlighted the business benefits of DEI: “Supporting DEI in the workplace is a business imperative, not just the right thing to do from a societal perspective.”

What Happens Next

Musk initially said his goal was to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget, later walking that back in January by saying there was a “good shot” of cutting half that amount.