US President Donald Trump will immediately issue executive orders cutting back on diversity, equity and inclusion programs and declaring that the US government will only recognize genders – male and female – that cannot be changed, a new White House official said on Monday.
The official, who spoke just hours before 78-year-old Trump was sworn in as president for a second time, added that more action on DEI programs is expected “very soon.”
“This week, I will also end the government’s policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life,” Trump said in his inaugural address as he returned to power after four years in the Oval Office.
“We will form a colorless, meritocratic society,” Trump said. “As of today, the official policy of the United States government from now on will be that there are only two sexes: male and female.”
The Trump administration plans to review and potentially end what the official described as “discriminatory programs,” including environmental justice grants and diversity training initiatives. Full details about the planned steps to cancel the orders, or when they will be announced, were not immediately revealed.
The impending DEI rollback and Trump’s inauguration coincide with this year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday commemorating the late civil rights leader.
Upcoming challenges
Civil and human rights advocates immediately vowed to protect minorities and challenge Trump’s agenda.
“We refuse to back down or be intimidated,” said Kelly Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBT rights advocacy group. “We are not going anywhere, and we will fight these harmful rulings with everything we have.” In the United States, In a statement.
Any rollback of DEI and transgender rights implemented by Trump would be a blow to hard-won efforts to secure equitable policies and undermine progress made to address systemic biases that have denied equal opportunities to marginalized groups for decades, advocates said.
“We will continue our tireless efforts to protect the rights of immigrants, combat voter suppression, and confront hate and discrimination in all its forms,” Asian Americans Advancing Justice said in a statement.
Many companies – including Meta, McDonald’s and Walmart — have distanced themselves from DEI measures, with some pulling back on DEI initiatives and programs in recent weeks. Meanwhile, companies like Costco and Apple have remained determined to maintain their commitment to DEI.
New expectations for federal employers
The new White House official said in a press conference that the Trump administration will recognize only the sexes, male and female, as unchangeable, and will instruct federal employers to use the term sex, not gender, which can refer to gender norms and identity. .
The US official said, without providing details, that federal funding would not be used for gender affirming care.
Federal policy on transgender health care is largely influenced by Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, which prohibits discrimination in health care on the basis of sex.
In his first term, Trump issued regulations to weaken this section, which was strengthened again under US President Joe Biden.
The Trump administration also planned to limit the scope of a major victory for transgender rights under the 2020 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, in which the high court found that civil rights protections from discrimination “on the basis of sex” applied to sex and gender identity.
The official said the attorney general will provide clear guidance on how to enforce Bostock.
Recurring Republican focus
Transgender rights have become a controversial political topic in recent years. During the November election season, many Republicans campaigned on repealing transgender laws with a particular focus on transgender women’s participation in sports. Relevant messages were at the heart of some ads put out by the Trump campaign and its supporting groups, which collectively spent millions of dollars to run these ads late in the campaign.
During a rally ahead of his inauguration on Sunday, Trump said he would take action to “keep all men out of women’s sports.”
It was not immediately clear what the executive orders would mean for the US military. During his first term, Trump announced that he would ban transgender troops from serving in the military, and his administration also froze the recruitment of transgender individuals. Biden overturned this decision when he took office in 2021.
Although presidents have executive power, some of the measures Trump has promised to enact — such as ending birthright citizenship — “will face an uphill battle in court,” said Brian Kalt, a constitutional law professor at Michigan State University.