US President Donald Trump repealed numerous executive orders that promoted LGBTQ equality and issued new ones declaring only two genders while halting government diversity programs, thereby making a definitive break from what he describes as “woke” culture.
On the campaign trail, Trump criticized diversity, equity, and inclusion policies in both the federal government and corporate sectors, claiming they discriminated against white individualsparticularly men.
“The Biden Administration imposed illegal and immoral discrimination programs, referred to as ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (DEI), across almost all facets of the Federal Government, including areas such as airline safety and the military,” one new order stated, terminating such programs.
During his campaign, Trump also condemned any acknowledgment of gender diversity, targeting transgender individualsespecially transgender women in sportsand gender-affirming care for minors.
In front of a crowd of supporters in a Washington arena, Trump rescinded 78 executive orders, actions, and presidential memoranda established by his predecessor, Joe Biden.
Many of the overturned directives promoted diversity and equality within government, workplaces, and healthcare, as well as the rights of LGBTQ Americans.
In this action, Trump fulfilled a campaign promise to promptly eliminate programs intended to address historical inequality, which he insists disadvantage white individuals, especially men.
He revoked Biden-era executive orders that prohibited “discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation,” and that protected LGBTQ Americans in education, along with equity initiatives for Black, Hispanic, and Pacific Islander Americans.
He subsequently issued a separate executive order mandating federal agencies to limit gender options to only male or female, eliminating alternatives for other gender identities, such as “X” on passport applications.
These policies are expected to face legal challenges.
Outside the historic Stonewall Inn in New York City, a significant site in the fight for LGBTQ rights, members of the community remained defiant.
