NASA axes ex-DEI chief after giving her new job title in apparent effort to evade Trump crackdown: report
SUMMARY
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) fired Neela Rajendra, its former Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer, after a failed dodge of Trump’s anti-DEI crackdown. Rajendra, axed from her new role as “Chief of the Office of Team Excellence and Employee Success,” got the boot days after the Washington Free Beacon reported JPL’s sneaky title swap to keep her. A March 10, 2025, email from JPL director Laurie Leshin had framed Rajendra’s new gig—overseeing “affinity groups” like the Black Excellence Strategic Team—as vital for “unlocking potential.” Despite Trump’s January 20 executive order shuttering DEI programs, which led to 900 JPL layoffs in 2024, Rajendra clung on until April 10, 2025. Her LinkedIn boasted leading the “Space Workforce 2030” push for hiring women and minorities. In 2022, she claimed tight deadlines hurt inclusion, per the Beacon. Leshin’s April 10 email, obtained by the outlet, thanked Rajendra but confirmed her exit, moving her office under HR.
