“Illegal DEI”: Key Considerations for Higher Education and the PrivateSector in the New Administration

Wiley – On January 21, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order (EO) 14173, titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” The EO directs all federal agencies to “terminate all discriminatory and illegal preferences, mandates, policies, programs, activities, guidance, regulations, enforcement actions, consent orders, and requirements” and “enforce [the country’s] longstanding civil rights laws and to combat illegal private-sector DEI preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities.” The EO does not define an “illegal DEI preference or program.” Since the EO’s issuance, numerous agencies and agency heads have weighed in on what constitutes “illegal DEI” under the new Trump Administration.