# Executive Order 14185

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Donald Trump′s thirty-ninth executive order of his second presidency, originally published on January 27, 2025 by the White House. Published as Executive Order 14185 on February 3, 2025 in the Federal Register. Scan: Index:Executive Order 14185.pdf
Signed by President Donald Trump Monday, January 27, 2025
Federal Register page & date: 90 FR 8763, Monday, February 3, 2025
​Executive Order 14185 of January 27, 2025
Restoring America’s Fighting Force
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:
Section 1. Purpose. As Chief Executive and as Commander in Chief, I am committed to meritocracy and to the elimination of race-based and sex-based discrimination within the Armed Forces of the United States. No individual or group within our Armed Forces should be preferred or disadvantaged on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, color, or creed.
Unfortunately, in recent years civilian and uniformed leadership alike have implemented Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs and their attendant race and sex preferences within the Armed Forces. These actions undermine leadership, merit, and unit cohesion, thereby eroding lethality and force readiness. They also violate Americans’ consciences by engaging in invidious race and sex discrimination.
Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of my Administration that the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security with regard to the United States Coast Guard (USCG), and every element of the Armed Forces should operate free from any preference based on race or sex.
Sec. 3. Definitions. (a) A "DEI office" means an office, division, job, or other unit of an institution established for the purpose of:
(b) The term "gender ideology" has the meaning given to that term in section 2(f) of the Executive Order of January 20, 2025, (Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government).
(c) The term ‘‘divisive concepts’’ has the meaning given to that term in section 2(a) of Executive Order 13950 of September 22, 2020 (Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping).
Sec. 4. Abolishing the DEI Bureaucracy. The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall abolish every DEI office within the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security with regard to the USCG, respectively, including any vestiges of DEI offices, such as sub-offices, programs, elements, or initiatives established to promote a racebased preferences system that subverts meritocracy, perpetuates unconstitutional discrimination, and promotes divisive concepts or gender ideology.
Sec. 5. Department of Defense Internal Review. The Secretary of Defense shall conduct an internal review that documents actions taken in pursuit of DEI initiatives, including all instances of race and sex discrimination and activities designed to promote a race- or sex-based preferences system. The report shall be delivered to the Secretary of Defense within 90 days of the date of this order.
​ Sec. 6. (a) The Department of Defense and the Armed Forces, including any educational institution operated or controlled thereby, are prohibited from promoting, advancing, or otherwise inculcating the following un-American, divisive, discriminatory, radical, extremist, and irrational theories:
(b) The Department of Defense and the Armed Forces shall not hire employees, contractors, or consultants to teach the theories set forth in subsection (a) of this section.
(c) The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall carefully review the leadership, curriculum, and instructors of the United States Service Academies and other defense academic institutions associated with their respective Departments to ensure alignment with this order. In addition, these institutions shall be required to teach that America and its founding documents remain the most powerful force for good in human history.
Sec. 7. Implementation. (a) The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall issue detailed guidance for the implementation of this order to their respective departments within 30 days of the date of this order.
(b) Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit a report through the Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy documenting the progress of their respective Departments in implementing this order, and any recommendations for action to fulfill the objectives of this order.
Sec. 8. Severability. If any provision of this order, or the application of any provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder of this order and the application of its provisions to any other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
Sec. 9. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
​(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
THE WHITE HOUSE, January 27, 2025.
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States federal government (see 17 U.S.C. 105).
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