Civil rights and civil liberties

Executive Order 14173: Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity

President: Donald J. Trump

Revoked the federal-contractor affirmative-action order and directed agencies to challenge unlawful race- or sex-based preferences in government and the private sector.

Status: In effect.

Is Executive Order 14173 still in effect? Yes. The Fourth Circuit vacated the preliminary injunction in National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education v. Trump on February 6, 2026, and remanded the case. That decision concerned a facial challenge; it did not resolve every agency application or the separate Chicago Women in Trades litigation. Fourth Circuit opinion, February 6, 2026.

Scales of justice between contract folders and signed documents, with a government building in the background.
Contracts and equal-opportunity policy, illustrated symbolically; this is not an image of a court ruling. EO Explained · site-generated editorial illustration · not documentary evidence.

What does Executive Order 14173 do?

The order revoked Executive Order 11246, which had required covered federal contractors to take affirmative action and prohibited specified employment discrimination. It instructed the Labor Department to stop promoting diversity and workforce balancing through that framework, added certification-related requirements for grants and contracts, and directed the Attorney General to recommend ways to encourage private-sector compliance with federal civil-rights law.

Administration position: The administration describes covered DEI practices as illegal discrimination. That label does not make every diversity program unlawful; legality depends on the program’s actual terms and the civil-rights laws that apply.

Reading the operative provisions of Executive Order 14173

The order revoked Executive Order 11246, which had governed affirmative-action obligations for covered federal contractors. It permitted contractors to continue the prior regulatory scheme for 90 days, while directing OFCCP to stop the specified enforcement immediately. OFCCP was told to stop enforcing the revoked order’s requirements; the Labor Department was directed to discontinue related diversity and workforce-balancing activity. Federal agencies also received directions for civil-rights terms and certifications in contracts and grants, to the extent permitted by law. These are separate provisions with different audiences and legal bases.

Revoking EO 11246 did not repeal Title VII or other civil-rights statutes. Employers remain subject to laws enacted by Congress, and the order’s certification language cannot expand an agency’s authority beyond those laws. The federal-contracting changes also required procurement documents and agency instructions to be updated; a solicitation or contract may have its own terms and effective date.

The litigation chronology on this page is important because the February 2025 injunction, appellate stay, and later appellate decision affected particular challenged provisions at different times. A stay changes whether an injunction is operative while an appeal proceeds; it does not necessarily decide every constitutional or statutory question. Check the cited docket and current agency guidance before applying the order to a specific contractor or grant recipient. Read Executive Order 14173 at the White House.

SignedJanuary 21, 2025
EO 11246 transition90 days
Lead agenciesLabor, DOJ, OMB, Education

Before and after

Before the order

EO 11246 had governed equal-employment and affirmative-action duties for covered federal contractors since 1965, as later amended.

Federal contractors operated under Labor Department regulations and compliance reviews connected to that order.

After the order

EO 11246 was revoked, with a 90-day transition, and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs stopped enforcing its affirmative-action framework.

Other federal anti-discrimination statutes remain in force. The Fourth Circuit vacated a broad preliminary injunction against parts of EO 14173 and remanded the case on February 6, 2026, without pre-approving every future enforcement decision.

The regulatory follow-through has its own dates. Labor published a final rule rescinding EO 11246’s implementing regulations on August 21, 2026, with an October 26, 2026 effective date. That stated effective date is still ahead of this October 16 review; publication is not the same event as the rule taking effect. Final rule, summary and dates.

Separate litigation also matters. The government’s August 18, 2026 Supreme Court petition described the Chicago Women in Trades appeal, No. 25-2144, as pending at that time. The Fourth Circuit’s decision in a different case did not itself dispose of that Illinois litigation. Later Seventh Circuit and district-court dispositions were not established in this review, so this guide does not certify that every certification provision is enforceable against every recipient. Dated government petition, related proceedings.

Who had to do what

Original assignments and timing; not verified completion claims
Agency or officialDirectionTiming
Executive departments and agenciesEnd discriminatory and illegal preferences and enforce existing federal civil-rights laws; take appropriate agency action to advance the stated private-sector policy.Sections 2 and 4(a) specify no separate calendar deadline. Section 2; 4(a).
Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, Department of LaborStop promoting diversity, holding contractors responsible for affirmative action under the revoked order, and allowing or encouraging workforce balancing on the listed bases.Immediately. The separate 90-day provision permits contractors to continue compliance with the prior regulatory scheme during transition; it does not postpone OFCCP's immediate stop instruction. Section 3(b)(i)–(ii).
Heads of all agenciesInclude an agreement that compliance with applicable federal antidiscrimination law is material to payment decisions under 31 U.S.C. 3729(b)(4), plus certification that the recipient does not operate DEI programs violating applicable federal antidiscrimination law, in contracts and grant awards.Every contract or grant award; no separate number-of-days implementation deadline in this provision; subject to law and applicable court relief. Section 3(b)(iv).
Director of the Office of Management and BudgetReview and revise government-wide processes and guidance; remove DEI/DEIA references from acquisition, contracting, grants and financial assistance procedures; end the specified equity-related mandates as appropriate.No separate calendar deadline. Section 3(c).
Attorney GeneralAssist OMB if requested, help agency heads advance the private-sector policy, and submit an enforcement-strategy report to the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy in consultation with relevant agencies and coordination with OMB.Report within 120 days of January 21, 2025; assistance provisions specify no separate deadline. Section 3(c); 4(a)–(b).
Relevant agency headsConsult on the Attorney General's report and identify up to nine potential civil compliance investigations per agency in the listed categories, alongside sector priorities, possible litigation and regulatory options.Within the 120-day report process. Identifying a potential investigation is not a direction to bring nine cases or proof that any specific recipient violated the law. Section 4(b)(i)–(vi).
Secretary of Education and Attorney GeneralJointly issue guidance on measures and practices needed to comply with Students for Fair Admissions to federally funded state and local educational agencies, colleges receiving grants, and institutions participating in Title IV student aid.Within 120 days of January 21, 2025. Section 5.

Signed order, sections 2–5. The domestic-policy assistant receives the report; identifying potential investigations is not proof that cases were brought or recipients violated the law.

What happened next

EO 14173 was signed and revoked EO 11246; contractor transition permission did not postpone OFCCP’s immediate cease direction. Official source.

The Maryland district court preliminarily enjoined selected provisions; the later Fourth Circuit opinion describes the scope. Official source.

The Fourth Circuit stayed that injunction pending appeal, not a final merits disposition. Official source.

DOJ announced a Civil Rights Fraud Initiative. An enforcement priority is not proof of recipient liability. Official source.

The Fourth Circuit vacated the preliminary injunction and remanded in NADOHE v. Trump, leaving specific applications challengeable. Official source.

A government Supreme Court filing described the separate Chicago Women in Trades appeal as pending then, not a verified October docket conclusion. Official source.

Labor published its regulatory-rescission final rule with an October 26, 2026 effective date, still future as of this review. Official source.

Reviewed court position

Court status

See the court documents in Sources by type.