How Trump Is Fueling the Backlash Against DEI

In 2020, outrage over the murder of George Floyd, a Black man, by a White police officer, ushered in sweeping efforts to bring diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, to the federal workforce and corporate America. But anti-DEI activists ignited a forceful backlash against these policies — and now they have a vociferous ally to their cause in the Oval Office.

At the outset of his second presidency, Donald Trump has made good on his promise to target DEI policies in both the public and private spheres, with a goal of forging “a society that is colorblind and merit-based,” as he put it in his inaugural address. During his first days in office, Trump authored executive orders aimed at pressuring corporations and other groups to end policies that constitute “illegal DEI discrimination”; revoking a longstanding requirement that federal contractors follow affirmative action commitments; and dismantling diversity programs across the government, which he claims undermine the competency of the federal workforce. Several of his DEI orders have been challenged in court.