Trump wants to roll back protections for transgender people and end government DEI programs

Chairman Donald Trump will sign executive orders on Monday withdrawing protections for transgender people and terminating diversity, equality and inclusion programs within the federal government in what he described in his inaugural address as a move to end efforts to “socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life.”

Both are major shifts for federal policy and are consistent with Trump’s campaign promises.

An order would declare that the federal government would recognize only two immutable genders: male and female.

The definition will be based on whether people are born with eggs or sperm, rather than on their chromosomes. The change is being presented as a way to protect women from “gender extremism”.

An official in his administration said it will mean the government will no longer recognize Transgender Day of Visibility, which fell on Easter in 2024.

Under the order, federal prisons and shelters for migrants and rape victims will be segregated by gender as defined by the order.

And federal taxpayer money could not be used to fund “transition services.” A small number of federal prison inmates have had gender reassignment surgery, and several have had treatments such as hormone therapy paid for with federal funds.

Medicaid in some states covers such treatments, but Judges put Biden administration rule on hold it would have expanded it nationally.

The order will also block demands in public facilities and workplaces that transgender people be directed to use the pronouns that match their gender. Trump’s team says these demands violate the First Amendment’s freedom of speech and religion.

The order does not appear to issue a nationwide mandate on which bathrooms transgender people can use or which sports competitions they can participate in, although many states have passed laws in these areas.

Civil rights groups were preparing to challenge Trump’s orders in court before he took office.

“We will continue to persevere, we will continue in our work, and we will continue to protect trans rights across the country,” Ash Orr, a spokesman for Advocates for Trans Equality, said last week in anticipation of such an order. .

A separate order aims to halt federal agencies’ DEI programs. Conservatives have long condemned them, arguing that they violate the Constitution by using preferences based on race, gender and sexual orientation. Trump drew cheers at a rally in Washington on Sunday when he said he would end DEI requirements from the military and schools. However, the order does not seem to address what the schools do.

Trump officials said it is appropriate that the order be delivered on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, as it aims to return to the idea that all Americans can one day be treated on the basis of their character and not of their skin color.

Trump alluded to it in his inauguration speech on Monday, saying: “We will strive together to make his dream come true. We will make his dream come true.” He later added, “We want to create a society that is colorblind and merit-based.”

Maya Wiley, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said Trump’s policy is a step backwards. “Dr. King had a dream, and this is his nightmare: the undoing of the work of our civil and human rights coalition over the past 75 years,” she said in a statement.

The purpose of the DEI plans was to promote equitable environments in businesses and schools, especially for historically marginalized communities. While researchers say DEI initiatives date back to the 1960s, several were launched and expanded in the 2020s amid heightened calls for racial justice.

Companies, including Walmart, McDonald’sand Metahave already rolled back their diversity policy since the 2024 election.