Trump decrees end of diversity programs, LGBTQ protections

On the campaign trail, Trump vilified diversity, equity and inclusion policies in the federal government and corporate world, saying they discriminated against white people -- men in particular.

"The Biden Administration forced illegal and immoral discrimination programs, going by the name 'diversity, equity, and inclusion' (DEI), into virtually all aspects of the Federal Government, in areas ranging from airline safety to the military," said one new order ending such programs.

While campaigning, Trump also demonized any recognition of gender diversity, attacking transgender people -- notably transgender women in sports -- and gender-affirming care for children.

In front of a crowd of supporters in a Washington arena, Trump wiped out 78 executive orders, actions and presidential memoranda issued by his predecessor Joe Biden.

Several of the overturned decrees promoted diversity and equality in the government, workplaces and healthcare, as well as the rights of LGBTQ Americans.

In doing so, Trump fulfilled a campaign promise to immediately curtail programs that sought to redress historical inequality but that he has insisted disadvantage white people, particularly men.

He scrapped Biden-era executive orders that prevented "discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation," discrimination against LGBTQ Americans in education, as well as equity programs for Black, Hispanic and Pacific Islander Americans.

He later issued a separate executive order requiring federal agencies to only give the option of male or female, removing the option for any other gender identity -- such as "X" on passport applications.

- 'Continued backlash' -

"Agencies shall take all necessary steps, as permitted by law, to end the Federal funding of gender ideology," the order said, using a catch-all phrase invoked by Trump to refer to any language inclusive of gender identity other than male or female.

His administration would only use "clear and accurate language and policies that recognize women are biologically female, and men are biologically male," the order said.

The policies will almost certainly face legal challenges.

Outside the historic Stonewall Inn in New York City, a focal point of the struggle for LGBTQ rights, members of the community were defiant.

"These announcements and these policy changes really affect people in a deep level," Angel Bullard, a 22-year-old transgender student from Wyoming, told AFP.

"It's a horrible place to be when you are unaffirmed and alone in this world."

As a result of the flurry of changes, access to gender affirming medical care could be at risk where federal funds are involved, warned Jami Taylor, a politics professor at Toledo University and an expert on LGBTQ policy.

That could apply in cases funded by state-run insurances Medicare and Medicaid, used by older and less well-off Americans, or in federal prisons.

Ahead of the election, Trump promised to ban gender-affirming care for minors and to take legal action against any doctors and educators who carry out or enable the practice.

The LGBTQ Victory Fund, which seeks to promote political candidates friendly to the community, said "work to elect pro-equality LGBTQ candidates is even more critical as our community faces continued backlash, anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and rollback of pro-equality mandates."

The LGBT National Help Center has been receiving about 2,000 calls per day since the election results, instead of the usual 300, according to its director Aaron Almanza.

Anti-trans rhetoric was a mainstay of Trump's campaign rallies, drawing huge cheers from crowds.