Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy

Honest Title:

Dismantling Federal Civil Rights & Protections

Constitutional Risk:
10
Signed by: Donald J. Trump
Signed: 4/29/2025
Last Updated: 4/29/2025
Executive Order

Summary

Directs agencies to abandon disparate-impact liability theory in civil rights enforcement, prioritizing individual merit & colorblindness over addressing policies with unequal outcomes. Revokes related rules & orders review of pending cases & judgments relying on disparate impact. This EO critically undermines tools designed to combat systemic inequalities. By abolishing disparate impact theory in enforcement, it mandates proving explicit discriminatory intent, effectively shielding practices with discriminatory effects from challenge. This elevates a formalistic "colorblindness" over achieving equitable outcomes & ignores how neutral policies can perpetuate historical disadvantage.