US President Donald Trump will issue immediate executive orders that eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and declare that the US government recognizes only two genders – male and female – that cannot be changed, a White House official said Monday.
The official, speaking just hours before the 78-year-old Trump he was sworn in as president for the second time, he said more actions on DEI programs were expected “very soon.”
“This week, I will end the government's policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life,” Trump said. he said in his first speechwhen he returned to power after four years out of the Oval Office.
“We will create a society that is color blind and based on merit. … As of today, it will already be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders: male and female,” Trump said.
The Trump administration plans to review and end what the official described as “discriminatory programs,” including environmental justice grants and diversity training initiatives. Full details of the planned steps to cancel the orders, or when they would be announced, were not immediately released.
The upcoming DEI rollback and Trump's inauguration coincide with the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday. this year celebrating the late civil rights leader.
Challenges to come
Advocates and civil and human rights groups immediately vowed to protect minorities and challenge Trump's agenda.
“We refuse to back down or be afraid. We're not going anywhere, and we're going to fight back against these harmful provisions with everything we've got,” said Kelley Robinson, president of Campaign Human Rights, the largest LGBTQ+ rights advocacy group in the US. in a statement.
Rights advocates have said that rolling back DEI and any transgender rights enacted by Trump would be a blow to hard-fought efforts to secure fair policies and undermine progress made to address prejudice. a system that has taken away equal opportunities for marginalized groups for decades.
“We will continue our relentless efforts to protect immigrant rights, fight voter suppression and confront hate and discrimination in all its forms,” said the Asian Americans promote Justice in reporting.
Many corporations – including Meta, McDonald's and Walmart – have distanced themselves from DEI measures, with some withdrawing DEI initiatives and programs in recent weeks. At the same time, companies such as Costco and Apple have been resolute in maintaining their commitment to DEI.
New prospects for federal employers
The Trump administration would recognize only two genders, male and female, as immutable, and would instruct federal employers to use the term gender and not gender, which could refer to norms gender and identity, the incoming White House official said in a briefing. .
The US official, without giving details, also said that federal funding would not be used on sex-affirmative 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 that divisionwhich was strengthened again under US president Joe Biden.
The Trump administration also planned to limit the scope of significant influence for transgender rights under the 2020 US Supreme Court ruling of Bostock v Clayton County, in which the high court found that civil rights protections against discrimination “on the basis of gender” applies. sexuality and gender identity.
The Attorney General would provide clear instructions on how to apply Bostock, the official said.
Republican focus again
Transgender rights have become a controversial political issue in recent years. During the November election season, many Republicans campaigned to overturn transgender laws with a particular focus on transgender women participating in sports. Related messages were at the heart of some advertising put out by the Trump campaign and support groups, which were together spent millions of dollars release these ads late in the campaign.
At a pre-march rally on Sunday, Trump said he will take action to “keep all the 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 soldiers from serving in the military, and his administration banned the hiring of transgender workers. Biden he reversed that decision when he took office in 2021.
Brian Kalt, a professor of constitutional law at Michigan State University, said that while presidents have executive authority, some of the actions Trump has promised to implement — such as ending birthright citizenship — will be ” facing an uphill battle in court.”
