As part of a legal settlement with medical associations and advocacy groups, the current presidential administration has agreed to restore more than 100 websites and online resources related to gender identity and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
“I am extremely proud of the health care community in Washington state and our partners in this case for pushing back on this egregious example of government overreach” said Dr. John Bramhall, president of the Washington State Medical Association (WSMA), the lead plaintiffs in the lawsuit. “This was not a partisan issue-open data benefits everyone and ensuring its availability should be a bipartisan priority.”
In January, the president issued an executive order directing federal agencies to eliminate references to “gender” and “gender identity” from federal policies, documents, and public-facing materials. In response, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) removed public health data from federal websites, including information on pregnancy risks, painkiller addiction, and the AIDS crisis. Hundreds of webpages addressing health concerns relevant to the LGBTQ+ community, including the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) HIV risk-reduction tool, were removed.
“This action proves the … administration’s goal of making it as difficult as possible for LGBTQ Americans to find federal resources or otherwise see ourselves reflected under his presidency,” GLAAD’s President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in January.
Physicians, scientists, and other medical professionals who relied on these resources were left scrambling. The Washington State Medical Association (WSMA) and other groups filed suit, arguing that the removals were “arbitrary, capricious, and unreasoned,” and violated federal transparency laws.
“This was trusted health information that vanished in a blink of an eye-resources that, among other things, physicians rely on to manage patients’ health conditions and overall care,” said Dr. Bramhall. “Not only was our ability to provide care to our patients compromised, but our trust in our federal health institutions has also been badly shaken.”
As part of the agreed settlement finalized earlier this month, the government must restore these webpages and cease deleting other resources. Graham Short, a spokesperson for WSMA, told the Associated Press that the organization expects the websites to be fully restored in the coming weeks.
Despite the settlement, HHS stated that it “remains committed to its mission of removing radical gender and DEI ideology from federal programs, subject to applicable law, to ensure taxpayer dollars deliver meaningful results for the American people.”
Separately, in July, a judge overseeing a similar lawsuit brought by Doctors for America ordered the government to restore additional websites that were removed. The Associated Press reported that 167 of those sites had been reinstated, while 33 were still under review.
resident Donald Trump has already achieved 69% of the anti-LGBTQ+ policy goals recommended by Project 2025, the blueprint for his second term created by the Christian Nationalist think-tank The Heritage Foundation, according to the website Project 2025 Tracker.
The website, which describes itself as a “comprehensive, community-driven initiative to track the implementation of Project 2025’s policy proposals,” lists 18 LGBTQ+-related goals. Of them, the tracker categorizes 11 of the blueprint’s goals as “completed,” three as “in progress,” and four as “not started.”
Many of the “completed” goals have dealt with eradicating any funding for gender-affirming healthcare, erasing any mentions of LGBTQ+-inclusive language from federally funded groups, and reinterpreting federal anti-discrimination laws to exclude any protections for trans and nonbinary individuals.
But it’s worth noting that many of the goals that the tracker marked as “completed” were actually policy changes sought in Trump‘s executive orders. Though some of his orders have been pursued by various government agencies and upheld by court decisions, others remain partially blocked in court challenges.
Very few of the “completed” policy goals were accomplished through actual laws passed by Congress. As such, many of Trump’s orders could potentially be overturned by a future president who issues opposing executive orders upon taking office.
The three “in progress” goals involve continuing to deny federal funds to “woke” groups and prioritizing heterosexual families and children in government policies.
The four “not started” goals include protecting religious-based anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination, prosecuting any pro-trans educators and librarians as sex offenders, and ending any Medicare coverage for gender-affirming surgeries (even though most major medical associations recommend such care).
Overall, Trump has “completed” 47% of Project 2025’s goals, the tracker states, barely seven months into his second presidential term. Their completion has largely been aided by a Republican-led Congress that has not objected to his unconstitutional and illegal actions that supersede his constitutional authority, as well as by Republican-appointed judges, namely the six-member Supreme Court majority, which has largely allowed his policies to remain in effect without offering much (if any) legal reasoning.
Trump has also achieved some of his goals by illegally denying congressionally authorized federal funding to numerous groups and organizations (both domestically and internationally) or by threatening investigations and prosecutions of groups that defy his orders. Many universities, law firms, broadcasters, and other companies have complied with his orders, even though they likely violate constitutional rights to free speech.
Trump feigned ignorance about Project 2025 and its goals during his 2024 re-election campaign, commenting, “Some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal,” and “Anything they do, I wish them luck, but have nothing to do with them.”
But as the then-vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) said during the Democratic National Convention, “I coached high school football long enough to know, and trust me on this: When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re going to use it.”
Completed
Department of Labor – Provide robust accommodations for religious employees. (Completed July 27)
Department of Labor – Rescind Biden-era Title VII and Title IX rules that strengthened the ability to prosecute sexual assault and discrimination cases. (Completed January 30)
Department of Defense – End all use of public monies for transgender surgeries. (Completed May 12)
Department of Defense – Reverse policies that allow transgender individuals to serve in the military. (Completed May 7)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – End all data collection on gender identity. (Completed February 25)
White House – Remove the words “sexual orientation and gender identity,” “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” “abortion,” “reproductive health,” and “gender equality” from every federal rule. (Completed January 30)
Department of Health and Human Services – Reverse prohibitions on healthcare discrimination based on gender identity. (Completed January 27)
Department of Education – Issue rules and guidance that “sex” is properly understood as a fixed biological fact. (Completed January 19)
Department of Education – Rescind Biden-era guidance that added a “non-binary” option in civil rights data collected from schools. (Completed January 19)
Department of Education – Abandon the redefinition of “sex” to “sexual orientation and gender identity” in Title IX. (Completed on January 19, but blocked by a court order)
White House – Revoke Biden’s executive order 14020, which established the Gender Policy Council. (Completed January 19)
In progress
Department of Health and Human Services – Revoke guidance that prohibited adoption/foster agencies from discriminating based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Department of Health and Human Services – Prioritize traditional (heterosexual) marriage in its messaging, health, and welfare policies.
White House – Cut off government contracts to entities that enforce a “woke agenda.”
Not started
Department of Health and Human Services – Rescind Medicare coverage for gender reassignment surgery.
Department of Justice – “Classify educators and public librarians” who discuss “transgender ideology” with minors as “sex offenders”.
Department of Labor – Prohibit employee retirement plans from investing based on ESG (environmental, social, and governance) factors.
Department of Labor – Issue an order “protecting religious employers and employees,” clarify they may make employment decisions based on religion.
A senior Heritage Foundation official and co-author of the far-right Project 2025 agenda has filed a comprehensive public records request targeting more than 70 courses at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, demanding access to teaching materials that reference diversity, race, gender, and LGBTQ+ identities.
According to UNC’s public records portal, Mike Howell, executive director of the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project, submitted the request on July 2, asking UNC to turn over syllabi, lecture slides, assignments, and internal communications that include any of 30 flagged terms. Among them: “transgender,” “LGBTQ+,” “cisgender,” “queer,” “intersectionality,” “nonbinary,” “white privilege,” and “restorative justice.” The request spans content shared since Jan. 19, 2025, and directs the university to search platforms such as Canvas, Microsoft Teams, Signal, and Slack.
The courses flagged by the Oversight Project include Gender and Sexuality in Islam, Transnational Black Feminist Thought and Practice, Islam and Sexual Diversity, Race and Gender in the Atlantic World, and Black Families in Social and Contemporary Contexts. Also targeted are courses like Diversity and Inclusion at Work, Diversity in Education, Social Theory and Cultural Diversity, and Gender and Sexuality in Middle Eastern Literature.
Howell cited two executive orders signed by President Donald Trump earlier this year, Executive Orders 14151 and 14173, which condition federal funding on the elimination of DEI-related content. In the request, Howell argued that the records “will shed light on potential inconsistencies between internal practices and public representations made by officials in a matter of substantial national importance.”
Since taking office in January, Trump has aggressively implemented policies that target diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, as well as gender and LGBTQ+ protections. Though he previously distanced himself from Project 2025, calling some of its authors “severe right” and its proposals “seriously extreme,” his administration has moved swiftly to enact many of its recommendations. The nearly 1,000-page blueprint, authored by the Heritage Foundation and allied organizations, calls for the dismantling of DEI programs, bans on transgendermilitary service, elimination of non-discrimination protections, and the closure of the Department of Education. Many of the document’s contributors now hold key posts in federal agencies.
Scholars have long cautioned that excluding race, gender, and sexuality from coursework risks reinforcing bias rather than promoting academic neutrality. The American Psychological Association encourages inclusive curricula that reflect students’ lived experiences. In a 1992 paper, psychologist Susan B. Goldstein noted that even cross-cultural psychology can marginalize women and LGBTQ+ people when it generalizes findings from white, heterosexual men as universal. She urged faculty to treat diversity as central to understanding human behavior, not an elective or ideological add-on. A study in the Harvard Educational Review found that engagement with racially diverse peers enhances students’ critical thinking, academic growth, and civic awareness.
UNC has not yet fulfilled the Oversight Project’s request. A university spokesperson told Inside Higher Ed, which first reported the story, that course materials are “the intellectual property of the preparer” and the university is still determining what, if any, documents will be released.
Chris Petsko, a professor whose course was among those targeted, told Inside Higher Ed he will not comply. He said the request is an intimidation tactic designed to distort academic work and stifle inclusive teaching. On LinkedIn, he advised fellow faculty to review institutional intellectual property policies.
Howell dismissed objections. “Syllabi are public records and belong to the public,” he told Inside Higher Ed. “If a professor is too much of a wimp to let me read his syllabus then he’s in the wrong business.”
Howell has previously drawn scrutiny for hypocrisy. In 2024, The Advocatereported on a 2012 Yelp photo showing Howell smiling beside a friend in drag, despite his vocal condemnations of drag culture and LGBTQ+ rights. When contacted, Howell confirmed the photo’s authenticity and dismissed it as Halloween mischief.
GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis called Howell’s behavior “the definition of hypocrisy” at the time, adding that Project 2025 is a “dangerous, unhinged playbook” that exposes the intent of “anti-LGBTQ extremists hell-bent on destroying democracy.”
He also claims that “liberals” have contaminated America’s foundation.
Vice presidential candidate JD Vance addressed supporters at a rally held inside Middletown High School on Monday, July 22, 2024. The Ohio senator is running as the vice presidential candidate alongside former President Donald Trump.
Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) likened Democrats and left-leaning liberals to “wolves” that need to be eliminated and to gardeners who have poisoned American soil in his foreword to Dawn’s Early Light: Taking Back Washington to Save America, authored by Kevin Roberts. Roberts employs similarly violent and dehumanizing language throughout the book.
Roberts, president of the right-wing Heritage Foundation and the architect of Project 2025—a blueprint for dismantling federal agencies and reversing longstanding civil rights under a potential second term for Donald Trump—drives the book’s controversial message.
Vance opens his 1,091-word foreword to Roberts’ book by referencing Pulp Fiction, a 1994 Quentin Tarantino film known for portraying its three gay characters as violent kidnappers, rapists, and BDSM enthusiasts.
Near the end of his foreword, Vance writes, “We need an offensive conservatism, not merely one that tries to prevent the left from doing things we don’t like.” He then employs a garden metaphor to vilify liberals as gardeners who have poisoned American soil, echoing Trump’s claim that immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country.”
Vance describes his analogy: “Imagine a well-maintained garden in a patch of sunlight. It has some imperfections, of course, and many weeds… In an effort to eliminate the bad, a well-meaning gardener treats the garden with a chemical solution. This kills many of the weeds, but it also kills many of the good things. Undeterred, the gardener keeps adding the solution. Eventually, the soil is inhospitable.”
In this analogy, Vance explains, “modern liberalism is the gardener, the garden is our country, and the voices discouraging the gardener were conservatives. We were right, of course: in an effort to correct problems—some real, some imagined—we made a lot of mistakes as a country in the 1960s and 1970s.”
While Vance does not specify these mistakes, it’s notable that the 1960s marked the height of the first U.S. Civil Rights Movement, leading to landmark legislation that outlawed segregation, discriminatory voting practices, and workplace, educational, housing, and public accommodation discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The era also saw significant anti-war, pro-worker, women’s liberation, and LGBTQ+ rights movements, as well as the introduction of birth control pills, which gave women greater control over their reproductive rights.
Vance returns to his garden metaphor, stating, “To bring the garden back to health, it is not enough to undo the mistakes of the past… It needs to be recultivated. The old conservative movement argued if you just got government out of the way, natural forces would resolve problems—we are no longer in this situation and must take a different approach.”
He continues, “As Kevin Roberts writes, ‘It’s fine to take a laissez-faire approach when you are in the safety of the sunshine. But when the twilight descends and you hear the wolves, you’ve got to circle the wagons and load the muskets.’”
Vance emphasizes Roberts’ violent rhetoric with urgency, writing, “We are now all realizing that it’s time to circle the wagons and load the muskets. In the fights that lay ahead, [Roberts’] ideas are an essential weapon.”
While some might interpret Vance’s pioneer imagery—referring to covered wagons and old-timey firearms—merely as historical references, the metaphor of wolves as deadly predators poses a more primal threat. Vance is aware of the right-wing’s affinity for gun rights, and similar imagery has been used by other conservatives to “defend” traditional values.
Roberts himself has called for a “Second American Revolution,” a modern-day repeat of the historic conflict that resulted in significant American casualties. Though Roberts describes this revolution as “bloodless,” he adds it will only be so “if the Left allows it to be.”
Roberts’ suggestions have generated such controversy that Trump has denied any association with Project 2025, while the Heritage Foundation has claimed to have shut it down, despite ongoing recruitment for a second Trump administration. Roberts’ ideas have become so unpopular that he has postponed his book’s release until after the election.
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