The short answer to the question posed in the title of this article is that it depends on how forcefully but deftly the administration can implement its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion order, and how the project will be received by Congress, courts, states, institutions, businesses, and the public.

Early evidence suggests that most big businesses are not going to object, as Walmart, McDonald’s, Ford, Toyota, Nissan, Harley-Davidson, Amazon, Boeing, Brown-Forman, Meta, Lowe’s, and others had already moved to wind down or terminate their DEI programs after the Supreme Court ended affirmative action in 2023 and Trump won in 2024 after committing to end DEI.  Meritocracy looks like a more responsible policy for many profit-making enterprises. (RELATED: The High-Water Mark of Woke Corporate Activism)
That incentive may not apply in other areas such as academia and the nonprofit world. However, the public has recently watched public officials committed to diversity falter in Los Angeles, with the L.A. mayor having been absent in Ghana during the height of LA’s fire season. However justified, the public’s heuristic skepticism of L.A.’s DEI makes DEI’s national death more likely.
Trump’s DEI order offers a good case study of executive orders in general. President Trump signed almost 200 orders covering many subjects on the first day of his return to office. The legal implications of executive orders will be of keen interest during this administration. (RELATED: Trump’s Executive Order Ends ‘Trans’ Tyranny and Protects Females)
The prime DEI order Trump signed on January 21 is “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” The gist is to halt DEI policies and practices as broadly as possible. The order says that DEI already “can violate the civil rights laws.” It seeks to “end illegal preferences and discrimination ... Government-wide.” The order also seeks to “encourage” the private sector to end illegal discrimination by targeting cases of DEI disc...