White House Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Signs Landmark Order to Restore Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy

TREATING AMERICANS EQUALLY: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order eliminating the use of disparate-impact liability in various contexts to ensure equal treatment under the law.

• Disparate-impact liability is a legal theory holding that differences in outcomes among races, sexes, or similar groups indicate unlawful discrimination, even without discriminatory intent or policies, but the theory violates the Constitution's guarantee of equal treatment for all by requiring race-oriented policies and practices to rebalance outcomes along racial lines.

• The Order revokes presidential actions that approved of disparate-impact liability and sets in motion broader reform.

• It directs all agencies to deprioritize enforcement of statutes and regulations that include disparate-impact liability.

• The Order instructs the Attorney General to repeal or amend all Title VI (racial nondiscrimination) regulations that contemplate disparate-impact liability.

• It directs the administration to assess all pending investigations, lawsuits, and consent judgements that rely on a theory of disparate-impact liability, and take appropriate action.

RESTORING EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY: This Executive Order restores the true promise of the Civil Rights Movement—a system that does not differentiate between Americans based on race and where success is determined by individual merit, free from discriminatory practices that prioritize group outcomes over personal achievement.

• Disparate-impact liability undermines civil-rights laws by mandating discrimination to achieve predetermined, race-oriented outcomes, contradicting the Constitution's guarantee of equal protection and treatment.

• It hinders businesses from making merit-based hiring decisions—depriving job seekers of opportunities best suited to their skills and preventing employers from acting in the best interests of their customers and the public.

• The Order ensures that opportunity is based on individual effort and achievement, not immutable characteristics, upholding the promise of the American Dream.

ADVANCING A MERIT-BASED AMERICA: President Trump is a champion of individual merit and fairness.  

• President Trump: "Our country is going to be based on merit again."

• In his first week in office, President Trump signed an Executive Order to restore merit-based opportunity in the federal workforce.

• President Trump also signed an Executive Order to restore merit and mission focus to America's armed forces.