Overview
- Secretary Marco Rubio ordered the shift from Calibri this week, directing embassies to use 14-point Times New Roman for all official documents starting Wednesday.
- In a cable obtained by the Associated Press and Reuters, Rubio labeled the 2023 Calibri adoption a wasteful DEIA program and said it did not reduce accessibility remediation cases.
- A State Department spokesperson said uniform formatting strengthens credibility, described serif fonts as more formal and professional, and cited alignment with the White House’s One Voice guidance.
- Accessibility researchers say sans‑serif fonts are generally easier to read on screens for people with dyslexia or low vision, a view shared by Calibri’s designer Lucas de Groot.
- The reversal has drawn broad media attention and satire, including segments on The Daily Show and CNN that cast the change as a culture‑war fight over typography.