Following President Trump's executive orders targeting Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) programs, the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, clarified its position on such initiatives. An internal email from Vice Adm. Yvette Davids to staff, obtained by Fox News, initially indicated the academy was closing DEIA offices and ending related contracts to comply with the presidential directives. However, the academy later clarified that it had not had a dedicated DEI office since at least the summer of 2024, in line with the Fiscal Year 2024 defense spending bill. Therefore, no office was closed as a direct result of the recent executive order.

The January email from Vice Adm. Davids reiterated the President's directive to end what he terms "radical and wasteful government DEI programs." It also highlighted concerns about programs potentially being modified to obscure their DEIA objectives. Davids requested staff to report any such modifications to contract or position descriptions to the Office of Personnel Management.

Midshipmen march on the campus of the U.S. Naval Academy. (John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images)

U.S. Navy spokesman Commander Tim Hawkins confirmed that the Naval Academy did not have a DEI or DEIA office prior to the executive order. The email served to inform personnel of the order and the academy's commitment to compliance. The Navy emphasized its dedication to implementing presidential directives efficiently and in alignment with national security goals.

In a separate communication, a human resources official at the academy instructed staff to remove gender-identifying pronouns from email signature lines to comply with a recent Department of Defense directive.

The U.S. Naval Academy campus. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

These actions coincide with similar moves at West Point, where several identity-based clubs were disbanded in response to Trump's executive orders and Pentagon guidance. The disbanded clubs included groups like the Asian-Pacific Forum, the Korean-American relations seminar, and the Society of Women Engineers Club. The U.S. Military Academy's communications office stated these clubs were dissolved due to their affiliation with the DEI office.

President Donald Trump has implemented policies to eliminate DEI programs across the federal government. (AP/Alex Brandon)