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4d ago

Trump Order Targets Core Civil Rights Enforcement Mechanism

President Trump’s executive order eliminates disparate-impact liability, directing federal agencies to scale back enforcement of anti-discrimination laws and raising alarm among civil rights advocates.

The actual Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 document and pen is on display in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., July 1, 2004. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into law on July 2, 1964 and the landmark law prohibits racial discrimination in public accommodations, publicly owned or operated facilities, employment and union membership, and voter registration.
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President of the United States Donald Trump attends UFC 314 at Kaseya Center on April 12, 2025, in Miami, Florida.
President Donald Trump being handed an executive order by White House staff secretary Will Scharf in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Washington.

Overview

  • President Trump signed an executive order on April 23, 2025, eliminating disparate-impact liability in federal civil rights enforcement, a key tool for addressing systemic discrimination.
  • The order directs federal agencies to deprioritize enforcement of statutes relying on disparate-impact liability and mandates a review of pending lawsuits and investigations under this framework.
  • The directive tasks the attorney general with repealing or amending Title VI regulations of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination in federally funded programs.
  • Civil rights advocates, including Fatima Goss Graves of the National Women’s Law Center, warn the order undermines decades of progress in protecting marginalized groups from discriminatory practices.
  • Legal experts argue the administration's justification misinterprets the law, while the order faces likely legal challenges and raises concerns about its potential long-term impact on civil rights protections.