Executive Orders & Actions We Are Monitoring

The Council continues to monitor executive orders and actions relevant to the broad philanthropic sector. To stay up to date on the latest information, sign up for Washington Snapshot. And Council members can join the Council’s Public Policy Action Network, which meets every other month to learn more about the Council’s Government Affairs work.

Background Resources

• What Is an Executive Order?, American Bar Association, Jan. 25, 2021
• Presidential Actions, White House, as of Jan. 23, 2025
• List of Trump’s Key Executive Orders, Wall Street Journal

Executive Orders

EO 14173: Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity

Section 4 directs the Attorney General of the United States to develop a plan to deter diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs or principles.  As a part of this plan, each agency is directed to identify up to nine potential civil compliance investigations of publicly traded corporations, large non-profit corporations or associations, foundations with assets of 500 million dollars or more, state and local bar and medical associations, and institutions of higher education with endowments over 1 billion dollars.

Section 3 rescinds EO 11246, which prohibited federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.

Update:

On February 5, United States Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memorandum instructing the Civil Rights Division and Office of Legal Policy to write and submit a report containing recommendations for enforcing federal civil rights and to take appropriate measures to encourage the private sector to end illegal discrimination and preferences. The report is due to the Associate Attorney General by March 1, 2025. Additional information, including the guidelines for the report, can be found in the Attorney General's memorandum.

EO 14148: Initial Recissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions

Section 2 revokes several previous EOs, including EO 14015 of February 14, 2021, which established the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. The White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships formed partnerships between government and nonprofit organizations, both secular and faith-based. 

EO 14180: Council To Assess the Federal Emergency Management Agency

Establishes the Federal Emergency Management Agency Review Council (Council) to evaluate the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to assess its capability to prepare for and respond to disasters. The Council will encompass no more than 20 members with the Secretaries of Homeland Security and Defense serving as co-chairs. The remaining members of the Council will include relevant agency heads and external partners that have expertise in disaster relief and assistance, emergency preparedness, natural disasters, Federal-State relationships, and budget management.

The Council will host its first public meeting within 90 days of this order and submit a report to the President within 180 days of that public meeting. After one year from the date of this order, the Council will dissolve unless an extension is granted by the President.

EO 14192: Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation

Orders the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to reduce regulatory costs and burdens by rescinding at least 10 prior regulations for each new regulation issued. For the remainder of fiscal year 2025, the heads of all agencies are directed to ensure the total incremental cost of all new regulations, including repealed regulations, are significantly reduced. Starting in fiscal year 2026, as part of the Presidential budget process, the OMB Director will set incremental cost limits for agencies when issuing or repealing regulations. No regulations exceeding the agency’s total incremental cost allowance will be permitted, unless required by law or approved by the Director.

This order also authorizes the Secretary of Treasury and the OMB Director to reinstate Memorandum of Agreement between the Department of the Treasury and the Office of Management and Budget of April 11, 2018, which ordered the review of tax regulations under Executive Order 12866.

EO 14217: Commencing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy

Orders the elimination of non-statutory components and functions of the following federal independent agencies:

• Presidio Trust
• The Inter-American Foundation
• The United States African Development Foundation
• The United States Institute of Peace

Within 14 days of the date of the order, the heads of the above agencies are required to submit a report that confirms compliance and states whether the agencies or any of their functions and components are required by law.

In addition, this executive order directs department and agency heads to terminate the following committees/councils:

• The Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid within the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
• The Academic Research Council and the Credit Union Advisory Council and Credit Union Advisory Council within the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
• The Community Bank Advisory Council within the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
• The Secretary's Advisory Committee on Long COVID within the Department of Health and Human Services.
• The Health Equity Advisory Committee within the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Other Executive Actions

Presidential Memorandum: Advancing United States Interests When Funding Nongovernmental Organizations

President Trump issued a memorandum directing department and agency heads to conduct a review of federal funding that's administered to Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs). In addition, he directed agency heads to ensure future funding decisions align with the interests of the nation and the goals and priorities of the Administration.

Memorandum Initiating Federal Financial Assistance Pause

On Monday, January 27, 2025, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) within the Executive Office of the President (EOP) issued a memorandum to department and agency heads ordering them to pause all activities related to obligations and disbursements of federal financial assistance by 5:00 p.m. the next day. This memorandum also ordered departments and agencies, to the extent permitted by law, to cancel awards already awarded that are in conflict with Administration priorities, as well as open Notices of Funding Opportunities. During the pause, department and agency leads were required to develop a detailed report on any programs, projects, or activities subject to this pause and submit that detailed report to EOP/OMB by February 10.

On Tuesday, just before the order was set to take effect, a U.S. district judge temporarily blocked its implementation in response to a Temporary Restraining Order filed by a group of plaintiffs including National Council of Nonprofits. The stay expires on Monday, February 3, at 5:00pm. Then, on Wednesday, January 29, EOP/OMB rescinded the original memorandum that ordered the pause on federal financial assistance.

Bookmark this page to stay updated as the situation continues to develop.