Trump Administration Moves to Remove "Gender Ideology" Content from Federal Websites

The Trump administration is taking steps to cleanse federal government websites of any content that does not align with the president's views, as reported by officials to CBS News. There has been a rapid dissemination of information throughout Washington regarding these potential changes, particularly a directive issued to federal agencies to remove materials associated with "gender ideology" by Friday at 5 p.m.

Despite some confusion among federal workers about this timeline, it was confirmed by McLaurine Pinover, the communications director for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), that agencies would not face shutdowns for failing to meet the removal deadline. White House press secretary Karoline Leavit reassured that agency websites would remain operational.

Additionally, OPM provided instructions last week for all federal bodies to eliminate content related to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) from their public-facing media by January 22. When President Trump was questioned about the possibility of website closures due to the elimination of diversity-related material, he expressed his support for the scrubbing process.

In a separate case, Politico reported that employees at the Agriculture Department received a request to erase climate change landing pages from their agency websites, following a directive from the USDA's communication office. The initial report by Reuters revealed that the administration’s intent includes removing references to gender and equity from federal program materials.

There is a growing uncertainty about how health departments and nonprofit organizations would adjust to these extensive guidelines, especially since many health initiatives are specifically aimed at addressing equity disparities or conditions that prominently affect transgender individuals. A local health official mentioned that there was a suggestion from Trump administration representatives that grantees might also need to adhere to a federal directive banning pronouns in email signatures, a restriction that was originally believed to only apply to federal employees.