AT&T Scraps DEI for Trump FCC Deal: $1bn Licence Drives Major Policy Shift

The American telecommunications giant AT&T has confirmed it will dismantle its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programmes in what civil rights advocates are calling a capitulation to regulatory pressure from the Trump administration.

The move, outlined in a formal letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), is widely seen as a calculated bid to secure approval for a massive wireless spectrum acquisition, raising concerns over the weaponisation of regulatory bodies to enforce political agendas.

AT&T Ends DEI in 'Substance' to Appease Trump's FCC

The details are as stark as they are revealing. In a letter sent directly to the agency, the company stated it had 'adjusted our employment and business practices and eliminated DEI not just in name but in substance.'

The timing is impossible to ignore. AT&T has been waiting for the green light on a £785 million ($1 billion) spectrum licence purchase made in 2024. Spectrum auctions, overseen by the FCC, are critical for wireless carriers to expand their 5G networks and remain competitive.

Earlier this year, the company quietly announced its intention to scale back its diversity efforts. Now, according to reports, they have shuttered all roles, employee groups, and programmes tied to DEI policies.

'The legal landscape governing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies and programmes has changed,' the company wrote. 'AT&T has always stood for merit-based opportunity, and we are pleased to reaffirm our commitment to equal employment opportunity and nondiscrimination today.'

A Pattern of Surrender: Verizon and T-Mobile Bow to Trump

This capitulation is far from an isolated incident. Under the leadership of Trump-appointed chair Brendan Carr, the FCC has embarked on what critics call a crusade to strip the telecommunications sector of its diversity commitments. The regulator has effectively turned merger approvals into a weapon against corporate social responsibility.

Verizon set the precedent in May, ending its DEI policies to secure a £15.7 billion ($20 billion) bid for broadband provider Frontier Communications. That deal saw the removal of all diversity language from internal materials, the end of hiring bonuses, and the dissolution of dedicated HR departments.

Competitor T-Mobile followed suit in July, scrapping its own programmes to win approval for two separate deals with the FCC.

Now, with AT&T falling in line, the message from the Trump administration is undeniable: corporate alignment with its social agenda is a prerequisite for regulatory approval. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump summarised the climate perfectly in a recent video: 'Companies aren't evaluating what's right; they're negotiating with fear.'

The Human Cost of Trump's War on 'Woke'

The consequences of this policy shift extend far beyond corporate boardrooms. Carr has launched probes into major entertainment entities, such as Disney and ABC, as well as public media organisations, including NPR and PBS. Further, the agency has slashed affordable broadband and fibre-optic plans that make Internet connections accessible to low-income and rural communities.

The Biden-Harris era ushered in these cuts, and the Trump administration is continuing the attack on equity projects. AT&T had previously positioned itself as a leader in connectivity, boasting of projects to bring fibre-optic internet to Indigenous communities and bridge the digital divide.

Those commitments now ring hollow as the company retreats from the very principles that underpinned them.

FCC Democrat Anna Gomez issued a sharp rebuke following the announcement. 'Companies should remember that abandoning fairness and inclusion for short-term gain will be a stain to their reputation long into the future.'

For now, AT&T may keep some employee affinity groups, but critics argue they will remain as powerless PR props—unable to track equality or acknowledge systemic barriers.

In Trump's America, diversity is no longer a value to be upheld; it is simply a bargaining chip to be traded.