Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Trump Orders to Roll Back Transgender Protections and End DEI Programs
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 weeks ago on
January 21, 2025

President Donald Trump gives his inaugural address during the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

President Donald Trump signed executive orders Monday rolling back protections for transgender people and terminating diversity, equity and inclusion programs within the federal government in what he described in his inauguration speech 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 the federal policy and are in line with Trump’s campaign promises.

Federal Government Only Recognize Male, Female

One order declares that the federal government would recognize only two immutable sexes: 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 pitched as a way to protect women from “gender extremism.”

Conservative groups such as the American Family Association are praising the change as one that acknowledges the truth. But experts including the American Medical Association and American Psychiatric Association hold that gender is a spectrum, not a binary structure consisting only of males and females.

Under the order, federal prisons and shelters for migrants and rape victims are to be segregated by sex 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-affirming surgery and more have had treatments such as hormone therapy paid for with federal funds.

Medicaid in some states covers such treatments, but judges put on hold a Biden administration rule that would have extended that nationally.

Order Blocks Government Facilities, Workplace Requirements Regarding Pronouns

The order would also block requirements at government facilities and at workplaces that transgender people be referred to using the pronouns that align with their gender. Trump’s team says those requirements violate the First Amendment’s freedom of speech and religion.

The order does not issue a nationwide mandate on which bathrooms transgender people can use or which sports competitions they can join, though many states have passed laws on those areas.

Civil rights groups were preparing to challenge Trump’s orders.

“We are not going anywhere,” Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said in a statement, “and we will fight back against these harmful provisions with everything we’ve got.”

Trump also revoked protections for transgender military personnel that former President Joe Biden had signed. There are an estimated 9,000 to 14,000 transgender troops.

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

Trump Said Delivering the Order Is Fitting on MLK Jr. Day

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

Trump referred to that in his inauguration speech Monday, saying: “We will strive together to make his dream a reality. We will make his dream come true.” He later added: “We will forge 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 policies are a step backward. “Dr. King had a dream, and this is his nightmare: the rollback 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 foster equitable environments in businesses and schools, especially for historically marginalized communities. While researchers say that DEI initiatives stem back to the 1960s, more were launched and expanded in 2020 during increased calls for racial justice.

Businesses, including Walmart, McDonalds, and Meta, have already rolled back their diversity policies since the 2024 election.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Newsom Signs $50M Plan to Battle Trump Policies, Support Immigrants

DON'T MISS

Fresno Students Entering the Work World Need Your Help to ‘Dress the Part’

DON'T MISS

Hanford Shooting Leaves One Dead, Another in Critical Condition

DON'T MISS

Rabies Detected in Fresno, Reedley. Fresno County Urges Caution Around Wild, Stray Animals

DON'T MISS

Plane Located That Matches the One That Went Missing in Alaska With 10 Aboard; 3 Bodies Found

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He’s Revoking Biden’s Security Clearance in Payback Move

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Seek Public’s Help in Locating Missing 75-Year-Old Man

DON'T MISS

Fresno Students Walk Out of Class to Protest Deportations

DON'T MISS

State Department Lays out Plans for $7 Billion-Plus Arms Sale to Israel

DON'T MISS

Donation to Food Bank to Provide 1.3M Meals to Western Fresno County

UP NEXT

Fresno Students Entering the Work World Need Your Help to ‘Dress the Part’

UP NEXT

Hanford Shooting Leaves One Dead, Another in Critical Condition

UP NEXT

Rabies Detected in Fresno, Reedley. Fresno County Urges Caution Around Wild, Stray Animals

UP NEXT

Plane Located That Matches the One That Went Missing in Alaska With 10 Aboard; 3 Bodies Found

UP NEXT

Trump Says He’s Revoking Biden’s Security Clearance in Payback Move

UP NEXT

Fresno Police Seek Public’s Help in Locating Missing 75-Year-Old Man

UP NEXT

Fresno Students Walk Out of Class to Protest Deportations

UP NEXT

State Department Lays out Plans for $7 Billion-Plus Arms Sale to Israel

UP NEXT

Donation to Food Bank to Provide 1.3M Meals to Western Fresno County

UP NEXT

Fresno Mission Opens Second Thrift Store Supporting Homeless, Recovering Addicts

Rabies Detected in Fresno, Reedley. Fresno County Urges Caution Around Wild, Stray Animals

3 hours ago

Plane Located That Matches the One That Went Missing in Alaska With 10 Aboard; 3 Bodies Found

3 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Revoking Biden’s Security Clearance in Payback Move

3 hours ago

Fresno Police Seek Public’s Help in Locating Missing 75-Year-Old Man

3 hours ago

Fresno Students Walk Out of Class to Protest Deportations

4 hours ago

State Department Lays out Plans for $7 Billion-Plus Arms Sale to Israel

4 hours ago

Donation to Food Bank to Provide 1.3M Meals to Western Fresno County

4 hours ago

Fresno Mission Opens Second Thrift Store Supporting Homeless, Recovering Addicts

4 hours ago

Judge Blocks Trump From Placing 2,200 USAID Workers on Paid Leave

5 hours ago

Alaska Legislature Asks Trump to Retain Denali’s Name

5 hours ago

Newsom Signs $50M Plan to Battle Trump Policies, Support Immigrants

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed laws Friday setting aside $50 million to help the state protect its policies from c...

2 hours ago

FILE - California Gov. Gavin Newsom waits for President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump to step off Air Force One upon their arrival at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
2 hours ago

Newsom Signs $50M Plan to Battle Trump Policies, Support Immigrants

3 hours ago

Fresno Students Entering the Work World Need Your Help to ‘Dress the Part’

Hanford police arrested a suspect in a fatal shooting outside an In-N-Out, believed to be linked to an illegal drug transaction. (Hanford PD)
3 hours ago

Hanford Shooting Leaves One Dead, Another in Critical Condition

3 hours ago

Rabies Detected in Fresno, Reedley. Fresno County Urges Caution Around Wild, Stray Animals

Ice is visible in the Bering Sea Jan. 22, 2020, as seen from a small plane airplane near the western Alaska coast. (AP File)
3 hours ago

Plane Located That Matches the One That Went Missing in Alaska With 10 Aboard; 3 Bodies Found

President Donald Trump smiles as he arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Fla., Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP/Ben Curtis)
3 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Revoking Biden’s Security Clearance in Payback Move

Fresno police are searching for Tommy Savala, 75, who was last seen Thursday morning near Simpson Avenue and North Fresno Street. (Fresno PD)
3 hours ago

Fresno Police Seek Public’s Help in Locating Missing 75-Year-Old Man

McLane and Duncan Polytechnical high school students walked out Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, to protest deportations, marching down Cedar Avenue. (GV Wire/Eric Martinez)
4 hours ago

Fresno Students Walk Out of Class to Protest Deportations

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend