Executive Order 14173

Executive Order 14173, titled "Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity", is an executive order signed by Donald Trump, the 47th President of the United States, on January 21, 2025.

The order revoked Executive Order 11246, as amended by Executive Orders 11375, 12086, 13279, 13280, 13496, 13665, and 13672, which had required federal contractors and subcontractors with contracts exceeding $10,000 to refrain from discrimination in hiring, promotion, compensation, and other employment practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clauses 52.222-9, 52.222-21 through 52.222-27, and 52.222-29, as well as FAR Subpart 22.8, were rendered unenforceable under new or modified federal contracts, subcontracts, and solicitations. Executive Order 14173 also revoked Executive Orders 12898 and 13583, as well as the Presidential Memorandum of October 5, 2016.

The order centralized authority for enforcing anti-discrimination requirements in procurement to the Department of Labor (DOL)'s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy, stripping interpretive authority from the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), Environmental Protection Agency, and civil rights offices of other federal agencies.

It revoked the amendment made by Executive Order 13672 to Executive Order 11478, thereby eliminating the provision that equal employment opportunity shall be provided to federal civilian employees without discrimination based on gender identity. As a result, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) lost its regulatory authority to issue regulations, guidance, or technical assistance specific to nondiscrimination based on gender identity in federal hiring, promotion, or personnel practices. It also no longer has the authority to evaluate agency compliance with such protections, develop training or diversity initiatives to support transgender and gender non-conforming individuals, or require agencies to report demographic data related to gender identity. Additionally, OPM's ability to coordinate with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on gender identity-related matters in the federal workforce has been curtailed.

The order also required agencies to terminate existing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA or DEAI) mandates that were deemed discriminatory or unlawful. The Office of Management and Budget and the United States Attorney General were tasked with reviewing and revising acquisition, grant, and assistance procedures to remove DEI-related language. Agency heads were directed to promote merit-based principles, and the United States Department of Justice and United States Department of Education were instructed to issue new guidance consistent with the Supreme Court of the United States' decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College.

Some critics argued that the order could reduce protections for minority groups and diminish diversity initiatives in federal contracting and employment. Commentators suggested it may make it more difficult for underrepresented individuals to access equal employment opportunities.

On January 23, 2025, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued a bulletin that for 90 days, until April 21, 2025, federal contractors may voluntarily keep following the same regulatory rules that were in place on January 20, 2025, even though those rules are no longer required. The bulletin also directed the agency to immediately cease promoting diversity initiatives, enforcing affirmative action obligations, and encouraging workforce balancing based on race, sex, sexual preference, religion, or national origin. On January 24, 2025, Acting Secretary of Labor Vince Micone issued Secretary's Order 03-2025, which directed all United States Department of Labor employees to cease and desist all investigative and enforcement activities under the rescinded Executive Order 11246 and its implementing regulations.