Executive Order
#14185 --Restoring America's Fighting Force (of January 27, 2025)
Highlights
The order aims to eliminate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs within the Department of Defense (DoD) and the U.S. Coast Guard, asserting that such initiatives undermine meritocracy and military cohesion.
Key Compliance/Risk Cue
Abolition of DEI Offices: All DEI offices and related programs within the DoD and the Department of Homeland Security (with respect to the Coast Guard) are to be dismantled. Prohibition of certain theories, such as the promotion or teaching of: "divisive concepts," including race or sex stereotyping and scapegoating. Federal Contractors are not DoD but often work closely with DoD and DHS. If your policies, programs, or even brochures are glaringly out of sync with this EO, it will be conspicuous and might even elicit comment from your Govt. point of contact. DEI policies should be widely inclusive and tethered to providing improved business outcomes, including better goods and services.
Litigation Snapshot
E.K. et al. v. Department of Defense Education Activity (E.D. Va., 1:25cv00637) Filed: April 15, 2025, by the ACLU National, along with ACLU affiliates in Virginia and Kentucky (Plaintiffs: Twelve DoDEA students (pre-K through 11th grade) stationed globally with military alleging that DoDEA, under direction from EO 14185 (along with EOs 14168 and 14190), illegally removed or banned books and curricula that discuss race, gender, and LGBTQ topics in violation of the First Amendment and students’ right to receive information by removing content like To Kill a Mockingbird, The Kite Runner, AP Psychology content, Pride Month materials, and more ) Status: PI Hearing held June 3, 2025, before Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles in the Eastern District of Virginia, addressing whether to block DoDEA’s actions and restore the removed materials. The case remains pending, with no ruling yet issued.