Following his second-term inauguration, President Trump swiftly signed a collection of executive orders. Executive orders issued on January 20 and 21, 2025, rescinded a host of executive actions by President Biden. They also advance a number of new policy initiatives and actions. Among the many executive orders addressing wide-ranging areas are two specifically targeted at diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) or diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) activities. The policy view reflected in these orders is that DEI policies violate federal civil rights laws and undermine national unity because DEI promotes attention to individuals’ demographic identities; the executive orders also depict “illegal DEI” as a “guise” for racial and sex-based preferences.
In Trump Administration Executive Orders Take Aim at DEI in Government and Private Sector, colleagues Julia E. Judish, Aaron S. Ralph, Alexis P. Landrum, Andrew Caplan, Gabby Regard, Jeffrey P. Metzler, Sarah Rowan, Craig J. Saperstein and Aimee P. Ghosh break down these latest developments and suggest proactive compliance measures for contractors as well as potential next steps for private sector entities without federal contracts or grants.