Even before Donald Trump won the election in November, numerous companies announced that they were ending their diversity initiatives. After the election, some of the country’s largest companies announced that they too were closing some of their corporate programs.
In December, Walmart said it was rolling back its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) goals and would stop using the term altogether. McDonald’s made a similar statement in January. On Friday, Meta became the latest major company to announce the end of its DEI targets, saying the company will drop its DEI team, equity training and inclusion programs and requirements to have a “diversified proposition ” of applicants during employment.
Although some of the announcements followed conservative pressure on social media, some came unprompted, suggesting that companies that were quick to trumpet their desire to expand their workforces after the backlash over the killing of George Floyd have cooled on an idea that aims to increase opportunities for women, people of color, LGBTQ+ people and other marginalized groups.
Now that conservatives not only have a majority on the supreme court, but also the White House and both houses of Congress, they can launch an all-out assault on DEI at the federal level.
But DEI lawyers say that’s not the end. Here’s how Trump’s second term could affect DEI.
An executive order banning DEI in the federal government
Towards the end of Trump’s first term in 2020, Trump signed an executive order banning diversity training at government agencies, contractors and institutions that receive federal funds, such as nonprofits. It also limited the use of so-called “divisive concepts” that the administration considered common in such training.
The administration was quickly hit with lawsuits alleging First Amendment violations in the order, and a federal judge blocked it soon after.
After Joe Biden took office, he signed an executive order requiring government agencies to create or promote chief diversity officers, hold DEI training, and develop their own DEI plans.
Trump and his allies have railed against the DEI and are likely to target it again once he takes office. While it’s unclear exactly what a new anti-DEI executive order from Trump would look like, it would likely lift Biden’s executive order and re-target DEI’s goals at the federal government.
Such an order could not affect private companies, even if the Trump administration wanted it to. A federal appeals court upheld a ruling this year against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who tried to bar private employers from diversity training on First Amendment grounds.
Appointments in justice
Trump appointed more than 200 federal judges to courts around the country during his first term, in addition to the three justices he took to the supreme court.
Trump’s influence on the judiciary since his first term is already weighing on dozens of DEI cases still pending in federal courts around the country.
“This will shape the continued direction of DEI law in the years to come and reinforces that the interpretation of laws protecting DEI will move in a conservative direction,” said David Glasgow, executive director of Meltzer. Center for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging at NYU Law School.
After Students for Fair Admissions—the Supreme Court case that overturned affirmative action in higher education—was decided in 2023, workplace programs became the next target. Edward Blum, the conservative legal activist behind the affirmative action case, said the case was only “the end of the beginning.”
The Meltzer Center is tracking 68 ongoing cases that are still in court. Many of the lawsuits focus on targeted programs such as scholarships, grants or initiatives for specific affinity groups. Others focus on reverse discrimination in the workplace, for example, white job applicants or employees suing companies for allegedly giving preference to their non-white counterparts.
More justices appointed by Trump means that even if these cases don’t make it to the supreme court, lower courts that lean conservatively could set legal precedents that shape the legal landscape around DEI for years to come.
Conservative justices could interpret laws that were created during the civil rights era to support claims of reverse racism, which have skyrocketed since Students for Fair Admissions.
Congress and the Department of Justice
On the campaign trail, Trump himself railed against what he called “anti-white sentiment in this country,” telling Time in May that he thinks “the laws are very unfair right now.”
The Trump administration could use the legal powers of the Department of Justice, which can prosecute state and local employers, or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which has enforcement power over private companies, to carry out what you think are cases of reverse discrimination.
“Right now, all lawsuits against DEI come from private groups or individuals. They don’t come from the government, Glasgow said. “If the federal government uses its enforcement power to go after private companies, then that could have a chilling effect.”
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Incoming Vice President JD Vance co-sponsored a self-explanatory bill in the Senate earlier this year called Dismantle DEI that would end all federal DEI programs, including agencies, contracts and schools or organizations that receive federal funds.
The legislation would be more sweeping than Trump could muster with an executive order. Republicans have a majority in both the House and Senate and can take it to Trump’s desk if they want. But with slim majorities, especially in the House of Representatives, Republicans will need the political will to pass the bill.
A cooling effect
When Floyd was killed in 2020, the ensuing protests around the country encouraged companies to introduce or expand DEI programs. Commitments were made, DEI offices were established and leaders were hired.
But after the decision of the Students for Fair Admissions, the companies were silent. Although the decision did not mention the workplace, private employers stopped advertising their commitments to diversity.
DEI advocates worry that a second Trump term will mean an even more widespread chilling effect, with companies abandoning their DEI initiatives for fear of retaliation.
“I’ve had leaders tell me things like, ‘Even people who support DEI within our company are scared right now,'” Glasgow said. “There’s a lot of fear and anxiety out there — even if, from a policy or senior management perspective, these organizations still accept [DEI].â€
When Meta notified its employees that it was dropping its DEI targets, the company said in a statement that “the legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the United States is changing now.”
“The term ‘DEI’ has also become loaded, in part because it is understood by some to be a practice that suggests preferential treatment of some groups over others,” the statement said.
But Glasgow and other researchers at the Meltzer Center say companies shouldn’t give up on their DEI initiatives entirely.
Researchers have outlined ways companies can support DEI, even when the legal environment around it is murky. Companies can be careful not to abandon initiatives that are legally protected and think about areas where DEI can be legally expanded. Companies can also focus on ensuring that their companies are internally inclusive, without pushing for wider change outside the company.
“No matter how hostile the external environment becomes, we can still make sure our policies are protecting vulnerable workers,” Glasgow said.
And some companies may become public advocates of DEI, against the conservative tide.
“I would like to see organizations that have a strong voice and a strong platform speak up for DEI and contribute to a conversation about why DEI is important in the public sphere, to push back those narratives anti-DEI,” €Glasgow added.
In late December, Costco’s board of directors issued a statement opposing a shareholder proposal from a conservative think tank that would have required the company to evaluate and issue a report on its DEI initiatives.
“A diverse group of employees helps bring originality and creativity to our merchandise offerings,” Costco said in a statement to investors. “We believe (and member feedback shows) that many of our members like to see themselves reflected in the people in our warehouses with whom they interact.â€
