- President Trump orders federal employees to remove pronouns from email signatures, citing «gender ideology extremism» and «wasteful» DEI programs.
- The directive is part of a broader rollback of Biden-era policies, recognizing only two genders and eliminating DEI practices within 60 days.
- Trump argues these actions restore biological truth, a move welcomed by many.
- The executive orders mandate the cessation of DEI training and hiring practices, and the removal of biological men from women’s facilities in federal prisons.
The directive, effective as of Friday afternoon, is part of a broader effort to roll back the harmful and unnecessary policies implemented by the Biden administration.
The memos, obtained by various media outlets, cite two executive orders signed by Trump on his first day back in office. These orders aim to eliminate what Trump deems «radical and wasteful government DEI programs» and to restore «biological truth to the federal government.» The orders mandate that federal agencies and departments cease all DEI-related practices within 60 days and recognize only two genders: male and female.
“Pronouns and any other information not permitted in the policy must be removed from CDC/ATSDR employee signatures by 5 p.m. ET on Friday,” a memo to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) employees stated. Similar directives were sent to the Department of Energy, the Department of Transportation, and other federal agencies.
A welcome return to biological reality
President Trump’s actions are rooted in a commitment to a fundamental biological truth. In his inaugural address, Trump declared that the United States would officially recognize only two genders, male and female. The executive order titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” explicitly states, “These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.”
This move has been met with approval from conservatives who argue that the Biden administration wasted taxpayer money and time on initiatives that undermined traditional values and biological science. Trump’s supporters see this as a necessary step to protect women and girls from the harmful and often irreversible effects of gender transition, particularly in minors.
Criticism and backlash
Liberals, however, are predictably outraged. Critics argue that removing pronouns and other DEI-related language from federal communications is a step backward in the fight for equality and inclusion. They claim that these changes will marginalize and harm transgender individuals, particularly in federal workplaces and institutions.
But for many conservatives, the Biden administration’s focus on DEI and transgender rights was a misallocation of resources and attention.
The order to remove pronouns from email signatures is just one part of a larger strategy to dismantle what Trump views as the harmful legacy of the Biden administration. Other measures include the cessation of DEI hiring practices, the termination of DEI training programs, and the removal of biological men from women’s facilities in federal prisons.
These changes have already begun to ripple through federal agencies. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has been tasked with identifying and terminating contracts that include DEI provisions. The State Department has removed references to transgender, queer, and intersex people from its international travel pages, and the Department of Defense has announced that it will no longer host events for cultural awareness months, including Black History Month and Women’s History Month.
President Trump’s executive orders and the subsequent directives to federal agencies signal a significant shift in the government’s approach to gender and diversity. Although liberals will undoubtedly continue to criticize these moves, many conservatives see them as a much-needed correction to the excesses of the previous administration. As the federal workforce adjusts to these new policies, the debate over gender identity and DEI practices is likely to intensify, but for now, the focus is on restoring a more grounded and realistic approach to governance.
Sources for this article include: