President Donald Trump has signed a sweeping executive order aimed at eliminating the use of disparate-impact liability in federal civil rights enforcement, marking a significant shift in how the government addresses discrimination and affirmative action policies.

The order, titled “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy,” asserts that the United States should guarantee equality of opportunity, not equal outcomes. It emphasizes treating individuals as individuals, rather than as members of a particular race or group, and calls for a return to a “colorblind” and merit-based approach in government policy.

The executive order directs all federal agencies to deprioritize enforcement of statutes and regulations that rely on disparate-impact liability—a legal theory that considers policies or practices discriminatory if they result in different outcomes for protected groups, even without explicit intent to discriminate. The order revokes previous presidential approvals of regulations that implemented disparate-impact liability under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and directs federal agencies to deprioritize enforcement of statutes and regulations that include disparate-impact liability.

Critics argue that by eliminating the use of disparate-impact liability, the executive order weakens vital civil rights protections, particularly for vulnerable and historically marginalized groups. Disparate-impact liability has been a key legal tool for addressing discrimination that is not overt but results in unequal outcomes, such as in housing, employment, and education. Without it, many forms of systemic discrimination may go unaddressed, as only intentional discrimination would be actionable.

The order does not repeal or amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or any constitutional amendment. Those would require an act of Congress or a constitutional amendment process, not an executive order. However, it significantly changes how certain civil rights protections are enforced by eliminating the federal use of disparate-impact liability—a key tool used since the 1970s to address discrimination that is not overt but results in unequal outcomes for protected groups.

By deprioritizing and seeking to repeal regulations that enforce disparate-impact liability, the order narrows the scope of civil rights enforcement, focusing only on cases of intentional discrimination and not those where neutral policies have discriminatory effects.

Executive Order vs. Civil Rights Act of 1964