President Donald J. Trump has issued an executive order aimed at dismantling what he describes as “dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences under the guise of so-called ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (DEI) or ‘diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility’ (DEIA) that can violate the civil-rights laws of this Nation.” Issued on Tuesday, the order states, “Illegal DEI and DEIA policies not only violate the text and spirit of our longstanding Federal civil-rights laws, they also undermine our national unity, as they deny, discredit, and undermine the traditional American values of hard work, excellence, and individual achievement in favor of an unlawful, corrosive, and pernicious identity-based spoils system.”
The order instructs “all executive departments and agencies…to terminate all discriminatory and illegal preferences, mandates, policies, programs, activities, guidance, regulations, enforcement actions, consent orders, and requirements.”
It also calls for a review and overhaul of federal contracting processes to block companies implementing diversity quotas, affirmative action mandates, and other DEI-style policies, stating: “[T]he employment, procurement, and contracting practices of Federal contractors and subcontractors shall not consider race, color, sex, sexual preference, religion, or national origin in ways that violate the Nation’s civil rights laws,” and every contract or grant award shall include a term requiring the recipient “to certify that it does not operate any programs promoting DEI that violate any applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws.”
References to “DEI and DEIA principles” must be excised from “all Government-wide processes, directives, and guidance.” President Trump is also tasking the Attorney General with providing a strategic enforcement plan within 120 days, targeting “the most egregious and discriminatory DEI practitioners” in the private sector.
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