Federal Communications Commission Ends DEI After Trump’s Directive

“In the very first section of the Communications Act, Congress stated that it created the FCC for the purpose of regulating interstate and foreign commerce in communication ‘without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex,’” Carr said in a statement. “Nonetheless, the FCC joined other private and public sector institutions in promoting discriminatory DEI policies during the Biden Administration.”

Carr, a former FCC commissioner, said the agency advanced DEI by incorporating it into its strategic goals, funding proposals, advisory committees, regulatory processes, and numerous other aspects of its operations.

“Promoting invidious forms of discrimination runs contrary to the Communications Act and deprives Americans of their rights to fair and equal treatment under the law,” he said. “It also represents a wasteful expenditure of taxpayer resources.”

Carr outlined specific actions the FCC will take to implement Trump’s new directive and to align the agency’s work with its mission as outlined in the Communications Act. These include removing DEI-related language from the FCC’s strategic plans, halting funding for DEI programs, and disbanding advisory groups that were formed to advance these initiatives. He stressed that the agency’s work will now focus solely on executing its statutory responsibilities without allowing external pressures to shape its priorities.

Related Stories

“It is our foundational mission to serve all—without discrimination,” she said in a statement. “Let’s be clear, diversity, equity, and inclusion does not equal discrimination. It is precisely our efforts to be equitable and inclusive that strengthen our ability to fulfill our mission.”

Gomez called on the FCC to avoid being sidetracked by “culture wars” and focus on its mission, which she said includes developing communications-related regulations that ensure that communities “historically left behind” are connected.