Headline Roundup • December 30th, 2025
DOJ Investigates Diversity Initiatives Using Fraud Law
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The Justice Department (DOJ) is using the False Claims Act to investigate diversity initiatives at some major companies, including Google and Verizon.
The Details: The False Claims Act is typically used to investigate and punish companies that overbill the government in contracts. Using this act, the DOC began issuing civil investigative demands to companies in October, directing them to provide information about their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.
For Context: On the first day of his second term, President Donald Trump signed executive orders aimed at dismantling diversity programs and directing government contractors to end "illegal DEI discrimination." The DOJ's use of the False Claims Act means companies that maintain DEI policies that the Trump administration deems "discriminatory" can be accused of filing "false claims" for government payment.
How the Media Covered It: Wall Street Journal (Center bias) reported that "DEI isn't the only area in which the Trump administration is using the law unconventionally," as the DOJ has also used the False Claims Act to subpoena doctors and clinics it suspects have provided transgender treatments to youth that are banned in some states. New York Post (Lean Right) wrote that the Trump administration is "stepping up its war on DEI" and called the move "part of a broader DOJ push to use the False Claims Act as a civil rights enforcement tool." USA Today (Lean Left) wrote that the Trump administration is using the law to "target" major companies and that the administration has "aggressively" pressured employers to change their hiring practices.
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Featured Coverage of this Story
Clare Grant/Courier Journal/USA Today Network
The Trump administration is investigating diversity initiatives at major companies under the False Claims Act, a federal law the Department of Justice uses to take action against contractors that defraud the government.
As USA TODAY reported in October, the DOJ earlier this year began issuing civil investigative demands to employers across a broad range of industries, directing them to turn over information about their diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
The Trump administration is stepping up its war on DEI, reportedly launching probes about the use of diversity initiatives in hiring and promotion at companies including Google and Verizon.
The Justice Department's investigations come under the aegis of the False Claims Act, a statute traditionally used to recover money from companies that overbill the government or inflate the cost of services rendered, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
The Trump administration has launched investigations into the use of diversity initiatives in hiring and promotion at major U.S. companies, built on the novel use of a federal law meant to punish businesses that cheat the government.
The civil probes are proceeding under the umbrella of the False Claims Act, which has traditionally been used to go after contractors who bill the government for work that was never performed or inflate the cost of services rendered.
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