Trump order rescinds ban on ‘segregated’ facilities for federal contractors, conflicting with federal law

The Trump administration removed a provision that barred federal contractors from maintaining segregated facilities, affecting restaurants and waiting rooms. This change follows President Donald Trump’s executive order on diversity, which reversed a 1965 order by former President Lyndon B. Johnson.

The memo stated that civil agencies should no longer include the ‘Prohibition of Segregated Facilities’ clause in new contracts.

Rights advocates argued that Trump’s actions threaten progress for marginalized groups and dismantle efforts to support historical equity.

New York University constitutional law professor Melissa Murray told NPR the significance of this removal for civil rights, stating it “speaks volumes.”

“It’s symbolic, but it’s incredibly meaningful in its symbolism,” Murray said. “These provisions that required federal contractors to adhere to and comply with federal civil rights laws and to maintain integrated rather than segregated workplaces were all part of the federal government’s efforts to facilitate the settlement that led to integration in the 1950s and 1960s. The fact that they are now excluding those provisions from the requirements for federal contractors, I think, speaks volumes.”

Several federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, have already begun implementing these changes across federal contracts.