Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity

[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 20 (Friday, January 31, 2025)]

[Presidential Documents]

[Pages 8633-8636]

From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[FR Doc No: 2025-02097]

Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 20 / Friday, January 31, 2025 /

Presidential Documents

[[Page 8633]]

Executive Order 14173 of January 21, 2025

Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring

Merit-Based Opportunity

By the authority vested in me as President by the

Constitution and the laws of the United States of

America, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1. Purpose. Longstanding Federal civil-rights

laws protect individual Americans from discrimination

based on race, color, religion, sex, or national

origin. These civil-rights protections serve as a

bedrock supporting equality of opportunity for all

Americans. As President, I have a solemn duty to ensure

that these laws are enforced for the benefit of all

Americans.

Yet today, roughly 60 years after the passage of the

Civil Rights Act of 1964, critical and influential

institutions of American society, including the Federal

Government, major corporations, financial institutions,

the medical industry, large commercial airlines, law

enforcement agencies, and institutions of higher

education have adopted and actively use dangerous,

demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences

under the guise of so-called ``diversity, equity, and

inclusion'' (DEI) or ``diversity, equity, inclusion,

and accessibility'' (DEIA) that can violate the civil-

rights laws of this Natio

igher

education have adopted and actively use dangerous,

demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences

under the guise of so-called ``diversity, equity, and

inclusion'' (DEI) or ``diversity, equity, inclusion,

and accessibility'' (DEIA) that can violate the civil-

rights laws of this Nation.

Illegal DEI and DEIA policies not only violate the text

and spirit of our longstanding Federal civil-rights

laws, they also undermine our national unity, as they

deny, discredit, and undermine the traditional American

values of hard work, excellence, and individual

achievement in favor of an unlawful, corrosive, and

pernicious identity-based spoils system. Hardworking

Americans who deserve a shot at the American Dream

should not be stigmatized, demeaned, or shut out of

opportunities because of their race or sex.

These illegal DEI and DEIA policies also threaten the

safety of American men, women, and children across the

Nation by diminishing the importance of individual

merit, aptitude, hard work, and determination when

selecting people for jobs and services in key sectors

of American society, including all levels of

government, and the medical, aviation, and law-

enforcement communities. Yet in case after tragic case,

the American people have witnessed first-hand the

disastrous consequences of illegal, pernicious

discrimination that has prioritized how people were

born instead of what they were capable of doing.

government, and the medical, aviation, and law-

enforcement communities. Yet in case after tragic case,

the American people have witnessed first-hand the

disastrous consequences of illegal, pernicious

discrimination that has prioritized how people were

born instead of what they were capable of doing.

The Federal Government is charged with enforcing our

civil-rights laws. The purpose of this order is to

ensure that it does so by ending illegal preferences

and discrimination.

Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the United States

to protect the civil rights of all Americans and to

promote individual initiative, excellence, and hard

work. I therefore order all executive departments and

agencies (agencies) to terminate all discriminatory and

illegal preferences, mandates, policies, programs,

activities, guidance, regulations, enforcement actions,

consent orders, and requirements. I further order all

agencies to enforce our longstanding civil-rights laws

and to combat illegal private-sector DEI preferences,

mandates, policies, programs, and activities.

Sec. 3. Terminating Illegal Discrimination in the

Federal Government. (a) The following executive actions

are hereby revoked:

[[Page 8634]]

ll

agencies to enforce our longstanding civil-rights laws

and to combat illegal private-sector DEI preferences,

mandates, policies, programs, and activities.

Sec. 3. Terminating Illegal Discrimination in the

Federal Government. (a) The following executive actions

are hereby revoked:

[[Page 8634]]

(i) Executive Order 12898 of February 11, 1994 (Federal Actions to Address

Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations);

(ii) Executive Order 13583 of August 18, 2011 (Establishing a Coordinated

Government-wide Initiative to Promote Diversity and Inclusion in the

Federal Workforce);

(iii) Executive Order 13672 of July 21, 2014 (Further Amendments to

Executive Order 11478, Equal Employment Opportunity in the Federal

Government, and Executive Order 11246, Equal Employment Opportunity); and

(iv) The Presidential Memorandum of October 5, 2016 (Promoting Diversity

and Inclusion in the National Security Workforce).

(b) The Federal contracting process shall be

streamlined to enhance speed and efficiency, reduce

costs, and require Federal contractors and

subcontractors to comply with our civil-rights laws.

Accordingly:

(i) Executive Order 11246 of September 24, 1965 (Equal Employment

Opportunity), is hereby revoked. For 90 days from the date of this order,

Federal contractors may continue to comply with the regulatory scheme in

effect on January 20, 2025.

(ii) The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs within the

Department of Labor shall immediately cease:

(A) Promoting ``diversity'';

(B) Holding Federal contractors and subcontractors responsible for taking

``affirmative action''; and

(C) Allowing or encouraging Federal contractors and subcontractors to

engage in workforce balancing based on race, color, sex, sexual preference,

religion, or national origin.

ract Compliance Programs within the

Department of Labor shall immediately cease:

(A) Promoting ``diversity'';

(B) Holding Federal contractors and subcontractors responsible for taking

``affirmative action''; and

(C) Allowing or encouraging Federal contractors and subcontractors to

engage in workforce balancing based on race, color, sex, sexual preference,

religion, or national origin.

(iii) In accordance with Executive Order 13279 of December 12, 2002 (Equal

Protection of the Laws for Faith-Based and Community Organizations), the

employment, procurement, and contracting practices of Federal contractors

and subcontractors shall not consider race, color, sex, sexual preference,

religion, or national origin in ways that violate the Nation's civil rights

laws.

(iv) The head of each agency shall include in every contract or grant

award:

(A) A term requiring the contractual counterparty or grant recipient to

agree that its compliance in all respects with all applicable Federal anti-

discrimination laws is material to the government's payment decisions for

purposes of section 3729(b)(4) of title 31, United States Code; and

(B) A term requiring such counterparty or recipient to certify that it

does not operate any programs promoting DEI that violate any applicable

Federal anti-discrimination laws.

(c) The Director of the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB), with the assistance of the Attorney

General as requested, shall:

f title 31, United States Code; and

(B) A term requiring such counterparty or recipient to certify that it

does not operate any programs promoting DEI that violate any applicable

Federal anti-discrimination laws.

(c) The Director of the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB), with the assistance of the Attorney

General as requested, shall:

(i) Review and revise, as appropriate, all Government-wide processes,

directives, and guidance;

(ii) Excise references to DEI and DEIA principles, under whatever name they

may appear, from Federal acquisition, contracting, grants, and financial

assistance procedures to streamline those procedures, improve speed and

efficiency, lower costs, and comply with civil-rights laws; and

(iii) Terminate all ``diversity,'' ``equity,'' ``equitable decision-

making,'' ``equitable deployment of financial and technical assistance,''

``advancing equity,'' and like mandates, requirements, programs, or

activities, as appropriate.

Sec. 4. Encouraging the Private Sector to End Illegal

DEI Discrimination and Preferences. (a) The heads of

all agencies, with the assistance of the

[[Page 8635]]

Attorney General, shall take all appropriate action

with respect to the operations of their agencies to

advance in the private sector the policy of individual

initiative, excellence, and hard work identified in

section 2 of this order.

ads of

all agencies, with the assistance of the

[[Page 8635]]

Attorney General, shall take all appropriate action

with respect to the operations of their agencies to

advance in the private sector the policy of individual

initiative, excellence, and hard work identified in

section 2 of this order.

(b) To further inform and advise me so that my

Administration may formulate appropriate and effective

civil-rights policy, the Attorney General, within 120

days of this order, in consultation with the heads of

relevant agencies and in coordination with the Director

of OMB, shall submit a report to the Assistant to the

President for Domestic Policy containing

recommendations for enforcing Federal civil-rights laws

and taking other appropriate measures to encourage the

private sector to end illegal discrimination and

preferences, including DEI. The report shall contain a

proposed strategic enforcement plan identifying:

(i) Key sectors of concern within each agency's jurisdiction;

(ii) The most egregious and discriminatory DEI practitioners in each sector

of concern;

(iii) A plan of specific steps or measures to deter DEI programs or

principles (whether specifically denominated ``DEI'' or otherwise) that

constitute illegal discrimination or preferences. As a part of this plan,

each agency shall identify up to nine potential civil compliance

investigations of publicly traded corporations, large non-profit

corporations or associations, foundations with assets of 500 million

dollars or more, State and local bar and medical associations, and

institutions of higher education with endowments over 1 billion dollars;

l discrimination or preferences. As a part of this plan,

each agency shall identify up to nine potential civil compliance

investigations of publicly traded corporations, large non-profit

corporations or associations, foundations with assets of 500 million

dollars or more, State and local bar and medical associations, and

institutions of higher education with endowments over 1 billion dollars;

(iv) Other strategies to encourage the private sector to end illegal DEI

discrimination and preferences and comply with all Federal civil-rights

laws;

(v) Litigation that would be potentially appropriate for Federal lawsuits,

intervention, or statements of interest; and

(vi) Potential regulatory action and sub-regulatory guidance.

Sec. 5. Other Actions. Within 120 days of this order,

the Attorney General and the Secretary of Education

shall jointly issue guidance to all State and local

educational agencies that receive Federal funds, as

well as all institutions of higher education that

receive Federal grants or participate in the Federal

student loan assistance program under Title IV of the

Higher Education Act, 20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq., regarding

the measures and practices required to comply with

Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and

Fellows of Harvard College, 600 U.S. 181 (2023).

Sec. 6. Severability. If any provision of this order,

or the application of any provision to any person or

circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder of

this order and the application of its provisions to any

other persons or circumstances shall not be affected

thereby.

00 U.S. 181 (2023).

Sec. 6. Severability. If any provision of this order,

or the application of any provision to any person or

circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder of

this order and the application of its provisions to any

other persons or circumstances shall not be affected

thereby.

Sec. 7. Scope. (a) This order does not apply to lawful

Federal or private-sector employment and contracting

preferences for veterans of the U.S. armed forces or

persons protected by the Randolph-Sheppard Act, 20

U.S.C. 107 et seq.

(b) This order does not prevent State or local

governments, Federal contractors, or Federally-funded

State and local educational agencies or institutions of

higher education from engaging in First Amendment-

protected speech.

(c) This order does not prohibit persons teaching

at a Federally funded institution of higher education

as part of a larger course of academic instruction from

advocating for, endorsing, or promoting the unlawful

employment or contracting practices prohibited by this

order.

Sec. 8. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order

shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the

head thereof; or

[[Page 8636]]

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget

relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with

applicable law and subject to the availability of

appropriations.

ted by law to an executive department, agency, or the

head thereof; or

[[Page 8636]]

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget

relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with

applicable law and subject to the availability of

appropriations.

(c) This order is not intended to and does not

create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,

enforceable at law or in equity by any party against

the United States, its departments, agencies, or

entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any

other person.

(Presidential Sig.)

THE WHITE HOUSE,

January 21, 2025.

[FR Doc. 2025-02097

Filed 1-30-25; 8:45 am]

Billing code 3395-F4-P