In response to a directive from the White House that effectively prohibits federal employees from including their personal pronouns in email signatures, sources from various federal agencies report that pronouns are now being systematically blocked across different email platforms and applications.
WIRED has validated numerous automated actions through conversations with staff at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the General Services Administration (GSA), and the US Department of Agriculture.
The employees spoke with WIRED on the condition of anonymity due to concerns about reprisal.
Multiple agency heads sent out communications over the weekend informing employees that, as a result of an executive order from President Trump, their offices would be disabling the pronoun feature in Office 365. Staff members were instructed to remove pronouns from their email signatures to adhere to the new directive.
An employee at USAID reported that the official removal of the capability to display pronouns took place last week, following executive orders concerning sex definitions issued by President Donald Trump on his inaugural day. A GSA employee noted that pronouns were cleared from staff email signatures after hours on Friday and were also rendered invisible in Slack, the internal messaging platform.
When contacted for comment, the White House redirected WIRED to OPM communications director McLaurine Pinover, who cited a January 29 memorandum instructing agencies to deactivate all features “that prompt users for their pronouns.”
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The ban on using personal pronouns accompanies a broad initiative by the White House aimed at dismantling programs that promote diversity and social justice within the federal workforce, along with the removal of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” references from employee communications.
In a notable instance of the policy being enacted, a photo emerged last week showing a wall at the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s academy in Quantico being painted over due to its mention of “diversity” as one of the bureau’s core values. (An email from the FBI’s Office of Integrity and Compliance obtained by Mother Jones indicated that “diversity” is no longer considered a core value by the bureau.)
The Trump administration initiated a sweeping campaign last week aimed at encouraging members of the federal workforce to resign in light of impending reductions. This initiative is led by Elon Musk, the head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has seemingly gained control over several federal agencies and sensitive governmental systems with apparent approval from the White House.
WIRED reported last week that Musk’s group has effectively taken charge of the Office of Personnel Management, the US government’s human resources division. In these initiatives, inexperienced young engineers, aged 19 to 24—many of whom have been identified as former interns or affiliates of Musk-aligned companies—are being utilized.
On January 28, OPM reached out to federal employees with a “deferred resignation offer,” causing significant confusion among the workforce. (DOGE’s new HR chief struggled to respond to fundamental questions about the offer during a challenging staff meeting last week, WIRED reported.) An email sent to employees on Sunday evening aimed to clarify whether the deferred resignation program was in compliance with existing privacy regulations. “Yes,” was the response. “The deferred resignation program utilizes only essential contact details of federal employees, such as name and government email, along with brief, voluntary email replies. This information is kept on government systems. If the Privacy Act applies, all details relevant to the program are included under existing OPM System Records Notices.”
Numerous agency insiders informed WIRED last week that several associates of Musk had been granted access to critical computer systems managed by the GSA, an independent agency established by Congress to oversee federal buildings and supply equipment, resources, and IT support across the government.
Reporting contributions by Andrew Couts, Makena Kelly, and Zoë Schiffer.
