On January 21, 2025, President Trump issued a widely expected executive order (EO), Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, targeting affirmative action and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the federal government.
The EO creates new compliance obligations for all government contractors and grant recipients and will lead to new Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) rules, eliminating such things as mandatory affirmative action plans and adding a new mandatory contract certification.
Any contractor or grant recipient that currently maintains a DEI program should especially take note, as the EO directly links the maintenance of future DEI programs to False Claims Act (FCA) liability.