By Bianca Flowers and Daniel Trotta
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump on Monday rescinded executive orders that had promoted diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and promoted rights for LGBTQ+ people and racial minorities, fulfilling promises to curtail protections for the most marginalized Americans.
Shortly after taking office, Trump repealed 78 executive orders signed by his predecessor Joe Biden, including at least a dozen measures supporting racial equity and combating discrimination against gay and transgender people.
Trump's policies represent a major departure from Biden's administration, which prioritized implementing diversity measures across the federal government. Trump rescinded two orders that Biden signed on his first day in office four years ago, one advancing racial equity for underserved communities and another combating discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation.
Trump repealed other orders aimed at helping Black, Hispanic, Native American and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
"This week, I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life," Trump said in his inaugural address.
"We will forge a society that is color blind and merit-based. ... As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female," Trump said.
The Trump administration plans even more executive action soon, an incoming White House official told reporters, including plans to review and potentially end what the official described as "discriminatory programs," including environmental justice grants and diversity training initiatives.
The DEI rollback and Trump's inauguration coincided with this year's Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday commemorating the civil rights leader.
Civil and human rights advocates and groups immediately vowed to protect minorities and challenge Trump's agenda.
"We refuse to back down or be intimidated. We are not going anywhere, and we will fight back against these harmful provisions with everything we've got," Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ+ rights advocacy group in the U.S., said in a statement.
Rights advocates have said any DEI and transgender rights rollbacks implemented by Trump would be a blow to hard-fought efforts to secure equitable policies and undermine progress made to address systemic prejudices that have deprived equal opportunities for marginalized groups for decades.
"We will continue our relentless efforts to protect immigrant rights, combat voter suppression, and confront hate and discrimination in all its forms," Asian Americans Advancing Justice said in a statement.
Many corporations have distanced themselves from DEI measures, with some rolling back DEI initiatives and programs in recent weeks. Meanwhile, companies such as Costco (NASDAQ:COST) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) have remained resolute in maintaining their commitment to DEI.
As part of the executive orders, federal funds will not be used to promote "gender ideology," the official said, a loose term often used by conservative groups to reference any ideology that promotes non-traditional views on sex and gender. Rights and advocacy groups view the term as an anti-LGBTQ trope and dehumanizing.
The Trump administration would only recognize two sexes, male and female, that were unchangeable, and would instruct federal employers to use the term sex and not gender, which can refer to gender norms and identity, the incoming White House official said in a background briefing.
U.S. funding will also not be used on gender transition medical procedures, the official said without providing detail.
The Trump administration also planned to limit the scope of a major victory for transgender rights under the 2020 U.S. Supreme Court ruling of Bostock v Clayton County, in which the high court found that civil rights protections against discrimination "on the basis of sex" applied to sexuality and gender identity.
The attorney general would provide explicit guidance on how to apply Bostock, the official said.
Transgender rights have become a contentious political topic in recent years. During November's election season, many Republicans campaigned on reversing transgender laws with a particular focus on transgender women participating in sports.
During a pre-inauguration rally on Sunday, Donald Trump said that he will take action to "keep all men out of women's sports."
It was not immediately clear what the executive orders would mean for the U.S. military. During his first term, Trump announced that he would ban transgender troops from serving in the military, and his administration did freeze recruitment of transgender personnel. Biden overturned that decision when he took office in 2021.