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
EO 14219: Ensuring Lawful Governance and Implementing the President's “Department of Government Efficiency” Deregulatory Initiative
Directs the heads of federal agencies to work with the Department of Government Efficiency and Office of Management and Budget to review and rescind regulations deemed overly burdensome, unconstitutional or inconsistent with law and Administration policies and submit a list of regulations for rescission by April 21.
EO 14235: Restoring Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Directs the Secretary of Education, in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury, to review the definition of "public service" under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, to ensure that the definition doesn't include student loan forgiveness for individuals who work for public service entities or nonprofit organizations that:
- support individuals who violate U.S. Code that regulates improper entry or other federal immigration laws;
- participate in activities that constitute illegal discrimination; and
- engage in a pattern of violating State tort laws, including laws against trespassing, disorderly conduct, public nuisance, vandalism, and obstruction of highways.
Individuals employed by organizations whose activities have a substantial purpose as outlined above shall not be eligible for public service loan forgiveness.
EO 14238: Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy
Building on Executive Order 14217, this order eliminates the non-statutory components and functions of the following entities:
- Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, U.S. Department of the Treasury
- United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (Independent Agency)
- Minority Business Development Agency, U.S. Department of Commerce
- Institute of Museum and Library Services (Independent Agency)
- Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (Congressionally Chartered)
- United States Agency for Global Media (Independent Agency)
- Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (Independent Agency)
Within seven days of the date of this executive order, the leaders of the above agencies are required to submit a report to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget confirming full compliance with this order and explaining which components or functions of the agencies are statutorily required.
Other Executive Actions
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Guidance on Title VII Compliance for DEI Programs
On March 19, 2025, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released two pieces of guidance addressing “unlawful discrimination related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace.” These two documents, titled What To Do If You Experience Discrimination Related to DEI at Work and What You Should Know About DEI-Related Discrimination at Work, explain the Trump Administration’s interpretations of the nondiscrimination provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in the context of workplace DEI initiatives, policies, programs, or practices.
In particular, the guidance emphasizes Title VII’s prohibition on discrimination against applicants or employees in the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, including:
- Hiring
- Firing
- Promotion
- Demotion
- Compensation
- Fringe benefits
- Exclusion from training
- Exclusion from mentoring or sponsorship programs
- Exclusion from fellowships
- Selection for interviews (including placement on candidate slates)
It also provides that employers may not limit, segregate, or classify employees based on race, sex, or other protected characteristics in a way that affects their status or deprives them of employment opportunities, including:
-
Limiting membership in workplace groups, such as Employee Resource Groups (ERG) or other employee affinity groups, to certain protected groups
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Separating employees into groups based on race, sex, or another protected characteristic when administering DEI or other trainings, or other privileges of employment, even if the separate groups receive the same programming content or amount of employer resources
While neither of these documents constitute regulations issued under the federal rulemaking process, both provide a better understanding of the Administration’s likely priorities for enforcement of Title VII against so-called “illegal DEI” activities. These documents should not be viewed as an exhaustive list of the potential avenues for enforcement activities, and it is unknown at this time what course of action the Administration may take with respect to perceived Title VII violations against any organization. However, employers—including tax-exempt organizations and especially foundations with more than $500 million in assets—should engage legal counsel to review their own DEI practices to ensure compliance with applicable federal and state employment laws, with a particular focus on the areas of concern outlined in this EEOC guidance.
For a more detailed analysis of the guidance provided in these two documents, we recommend Holland & Knight’s How to Run a Legally Compliant DEI Program.
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.
