Executive Orders & Actions We Are Monitoring
The Council continues to monitor executive orders and actions relevant to the broad philanthropic sector. To stay up to date on the latest information, sign up for Washington Snapshot. And Council members can join the Council’s Public Policy Action Network, which meets every other month to learn more about the Council’s Government Affairs work.
Background Resources
- What Is an Executive Order?, American Bar Association, Jan. 25, 2021
- Presidential Actions, White House, as of Jan. 23, 2025
- List of Trump’s Key Executive Orders, Wall Street Journal
Executive Orders
EO 14173: Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity
Section 4 directs the Attorney General of the United States to develop a plan to deter diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs or principles. As a part of this plan, each agency is directed to identify up to nine potential civil compliance investigations of publicly traded corporations, large non-profit corporations or associations, foundations with assets of 500 million dollars or more, state and local bar and medical associations, and institutions of higher education with endowments over 1 billion dollars.
Section 3 rescinds EO 11246, which prohibited federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.
EO 14148: Initial Recissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions
Section 2 revokes several previous EOs, including EO 14015 of February 14, 2021, which established the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. The White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships formed partnerships between government and nonprofit organizations, both secular and faith-based.
Other Executive Actions
Memorandum Initiating Federal Financial Assistance Pause
On Monday, January 27, 2025, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) within the Executive Office of the President (EOP) issued a memorandum to department and agency heads ordering them to pause all activities related to obligations and disbursements of federal financial assistance by 5:00 p.m. the next day. This memorandum also ordered departments and agencies, to the extent permitted by law, to cancel awards already awarded that are in conflict with Administration priorities, as well as open Notices of Funding Opportunities. During the pause, department and agency leads were required to develop a detailed report on any programs, projects, or activities subject to this pause and submit that detailed report to EOP/OMB by February 10.
On Tuesday, just before the order was set to take effect, a U.S. district judge temporarily blocked its implementation in response to a Temporary Restraining Order filed by a group of plaintiffs including National Council of Nonprofits. The stay expires on Monday, February 3, at 5:00pm. Then, on Wednesday, January 29, EOP/OMB rescinded the original memorandum that ordered the pause on federal financial assistance.
Bookmark this page to stay updated as the situation continues to develop.
