Press Release
Do No Harm Applauds President Trump for Targeting DEI in Medical Organizations
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RICHMOND, VA; January 22, 2025 – President Trump has issued an executive order targeting DEI’s clutch on federal agencies and publicly funded institutions, including medical schools and associations.
The order requires “all executive departments and agencies to terminate all discriminatory and illegal preferences, mandates, policies, programs, activities, guidance, regulations, enforcement actions, consent orders, and requirements.” It also mandates that all agencies must enforce civil rights laws and “combat illegal private-sector DEI preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities.”
The executive order has enormous ramifications for medical schools, medical associations, and other healthcare institutions. Many of its broader provisions will directly impact the medical field, while the order makes explicit reference to DEI activities at healthcare institutions as well.
“This order sends a strong message to the American people that our medical professionals will be guided by merit and excellence, not identity politics,” said Kristina Rasmussen, Executive Director at Do No Harm. “For too long medical schools and associations have embedded DEI in admissions, hiring, curriculum, and scholarships, compromising the integrity of the medical profession and the quality of patient care. We commend President Trump for taking this action to restore trust in our institutions and hope in the American Dream.”
The order revokes six previous executive orders that encouraged “illegal discrimination in the federal government.” Additionally, President Trump ordered federal agencies to produce a “strategic enforcement plan” that identifies “potential civil compliance investigations,” specifically mentioning “medical associations, and institutions of higher education with endowments over 1 billion dollars.”
President Trump also ordered the Attorney General and the Secretary of Education to issue guidelines ensuring federally funded institutions of higher education comply with the Supreme Court’s 2023 Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard ruling that struck down affirmative action in school admissions. This week, Do No Harm published a report identifying medical schools that likely continue to practice discriminatory admissions.
The executive order explicitly calls out “the medical industry” for using “dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences under the guise of so-called ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (DEI) or ‘diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility’ (DEIA) that can violate the civil-rights laws of this Nation.” It continues to say that the medical community’s DEI policies “threaten the safety of American men, women, and children across the Nation by diminishing the importance of individual merit, aptitude, hard work.”
Do No Harm, established in April 2022, has rapidly gained recognition and made significant strides in its mission to safeguard healthcare from ideological threats. With over 15,000 members, including doctors, nurses, physicians, and concerned citizens across all 50 states and 14 countries, DNH has achieved over 10,000 media hits in top-tier publications and garnered widespread attention through numerous broadcast news appearances.