It’s been clear for some time now that President Donald Trump would come for DEI (diversity, equality, and inclusion) in his second term, but few could have predicted the swiftness and severity with which he would do so. From the moment he was inaugurated, DEI has been one of his top targets. Even in his inaugural address, given minutes after he was officially sworn in on Jan. 20, he promised to “forge a society that is colorblind and merit-based.” Now, mere days into his presidency, he has given drastic orders to upend systems that have served to benefit those of different races, ethnicities, and genders in the workplace and beyond.
On the literal first day of his term, Trump signed an executive order to dismantle DEI programs within the federal government, which will affect about 2.4 million people. The next day, Jan. 21, he issued another sweeping order that rolls back several executive orders from past presidents, including former President Bill Clinton’s, which advocated for environmental justice in low-income and minority populations, and another one from former President Lyndon B. Johnson, which addressed non-discriminatory practices in hiring and employment and was considered a foundational measure in modern civil rights.
But Jan. 21 also brought a big update for current and future college students: an executive order targeting universities and other “influential institutions of American society.” Trump wrote in the order, “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.’”
Basically, the order serves to launch investigations from federal agencies into higher education institutions to find out if they are in violation of federal civil rights laws due to their DEI programs, practices, and policies. Trump also used the order to direct every federal agency to look into large entities (including universities with endowments over $1 billion) and each identify up to nine entities whose diversity policies may violate civil rights laws via their DEI practices.
This order will likely lead to many colleges rolling back or completely eliminating their DEI efforts in order to comply with Trump’s orders, while other institutions that retain their DEI efforts may face legal battles for doing so. FWIW, the order does not prevent colleges from discussing race and gender, nor does it prohibit faculty from teaching diversity as it relates to academic coursework.
In short, the exact ramifications of Trump’s attacks on DEI — namely, how they’ll affect colleges — remain to be seen. During his first term, he paid little attention to higher education. This time around, though, it appears to be very high on his list of priorities, not just in terms of DEI, but also with regard to immigration, free speech, transgender rights, financial aid, and more. Current and future college students will do well to stay alert and informed about the impacts of Trump’s decisions in the coming weeks, months, and years.