Federal employees across numerous departments were asked Friday to delete personal pronouns from their email signatures by 5 p.m., as agencies scrambled to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order not to promote gender ideology.
An email to U.S. Department of Agriculture personnel, acquired by USA TODAY, urged employees to “recreate their signatures” in accordance with Trump’s order, as well as an amended style guide that excludes pronouns.
According to ABC News, employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Transportation Department were directed to remove their pronouns.
According to the New York Times, the order was also issued to employees of the State Department, Labor Department, and Department of Veteran Affairs.
On Wednesday, the Office of Personnel Management released a letter directing federal department and agency heads to delete all regulations, forms, communications, and webpages that “inculcate or promote gender ideology” by Friday evening.
The memo instructed departments and agencies to place personnel whose positions include “promoting gender ideology” on paid leave and to guarantee that all agency regulations and publications use the term “sex” rather than gender, among other activities.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has already begun to restructure its website, removing pages with information on health inequalities among LGBTQ adolescents and promoting LBGTQ+ youth.
On its travel advisory homepage, the State Department also removed the term “LGBTQ” and replaced it with “LGB” (which stands for lesbian, gay, and bisexual).
Trump has also issued executive orders instructing the federal government not to assist with gender transitions for those under the age of 19, as well as prohibiting transgender people from serving in the military.
Trump’s attempt to bring back morality and normalcy to the US, and indirectly to the world, on this gender issue is one of the things I really love and appreciate.
A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.
Nnamdi Okoli