Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The DevastationOn January 20, 2025, the Donald Trump administration issued three executive orders that significantly impacted equality work and U.S. foreign assistance.One order claimed to defend women from "gender ideology extremism" and restore "biological truth to the federal government."A second sought to end "radical and wasteful" government DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) programs and "preferencing."And a third proposed to reevaluate and realign U.S. foreign aid, asserting that the U.S. "foreign aid industry and bureaucracy" were "not aligned with American interests and in many cases antithetical to American values." 1 Among other impacts, this system-wide disruption triggered the dismantling of work on gender and democracy and women, peace, and security (WPS) across the White House, the Department of State, the Department of Defense, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). 2 In line with a long history of anti-feminist foreign policy by Republican administrations since Ronald Reagan (Angevine 2025), Trump also reinstated the Mexico City Policy, better known as the "Global Gag Rule," on January 24, 2025.3 This rule prevents U.S. foreign assistance from being used, directly or indirectly, to support abortion as a method of family planning.In 2017, the first Trump administration dramatically expanded the Mexico City Policy to apply to all U.S. global health assistance, including efforts to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis.On January 23, 2026, Vice President J.D. Vance announced a further expansion of these restrictions to all nonmilitary foreign aid, any activities promoting "gender ideology" and DEI, and
Source: Politics & Gender
Authors: Caroline Hubbard, Mona Lena Krook
Institution: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Language: English
Subfield: Gender Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,550
OpenAlex ID: W7162133650