As we reported previously, President Trump’s January 21 Executive Order (EO) 14173, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” terminated certain affirmative action requirements applicable to government contracts and federally-funded construction contracts. The EO also mandates that new provisions be included in all government contracts and all grants, certifying that counterparties do not have diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies that violate federal anti-discrimination law. We noted that, in absence of additional government guidance, there was some challenge in identifying what DEI programs may be permissible going forward.
