Trump’s Executive Orders Rolling Back DEI and Accessibility Efforts, Explained

In honor of Women's History Month and acknowledging the abundance of threats to advances toward equality, fairness and anti-discrimination for all, we are cross posting this article written by ReNika Moore, Director of the ACLU’s Racial Justice Program. Moore explains that Trump’s executive orders dismantling federal diversity, equity and inclusion programs “weaponize civil rights laws” to reverse decades of progress for women, people of color and for all communities.


The Trump administration’s three executive orders targeting diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives take a “shock and awe” approach that upends longstanding, bipartisan federal policy meant to open doors that had been unfairly closed. In his first few days, President Donald Trump is undertaking a deliberate effort to obfuscate and weaponize civil rights laws that address discrimination and ensure everyone has a fair chance to compete, whether it’s for a job, a promotion, or an education.

With these actions, the administration is not only undoing decades of federal anti-discrimination policy, spanning Democratic and Republican presidential administrations alike, but also marshalling federal enforcement agencies to bully both private and government entities into abandoning legal efforts to promote equity and remedy systemic discrimination. Trump’s executive orders undermine obligations dating back to the Johnson administration that firms doing business with the U.S. government and receiving billions in public dollars are held to the highest standards in remedying and preventing bias.

How Do These Orders Dismantle Decades of Federal Anti-Discrimination Policy?

For decades, federal policies have supported efforts to promote equal opportunity, enforced by administrations from both parties. These policies grew out of federal anti-discrimination laws passed during the 1960s civil rights struggle and have been expanded to guarantee that opportunity was not denied — as it had been for too long — because of one’s race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or other legally protected characteristics.

Trump’s executive orders represent a major departure from these policies, particularly in the federal contracting space. One order rescinds Executive Order 11246, a cornerstone of equal opportunity policy for federal contractors that has been in place since 1965 under the Johnson administration, without offering any replacement framework. This abrupt shift abandons a measure that has helped dismantle entrenched race and sex segregation in high-paying industries historically closed to women and Black and Brown workers. It also leaves contractors scrambling to navigate a complex regulatory environment, including federal anti-discrimination laws like Title VII and other laws mandating federal contractors take affirmative action with respect to veterans and disabled workers — all of which remain in place.

How Will These Orders Target DEIA in the Workplace?

More broadly, the orders seek to intimidate all employers — ranging from private organizations and federal contractors and grantees to state and local entities — into abandoning DEIA initiatives, using vague and threatening language to create fear of enforcement actions. The strategy is clear: Bully everyone into dropping programs that ensure equitable workplaces by falsely equating diversity efforts with discrimination.

Yet, in employment for example, properly designed DEIA programs are not only legal under federal and state civil rights laws and longstanding legal precedents; they are also necessary to ensure compliance with those laws. Programs labeled as DEIA encompass a broad range of lawful initiatives that create fairer workplaces and ensure opportunities aren’t limited based on race, ethnicity, disability, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Many of these initiatives are not focused on selecting specific candidates for hire — they aim to create fairer processes. For instance, recruiting at underrepresented institutions or ensuring fairness in promotion criteria helps address systemic inequities without disadvantaging any individual.