Federal employees in at least two major departments have been directed to remove pronouns from their email signatures by 5 p.m. Friday, following a new policy under the Trump administration.
BREAKING: The Trump administration has mandated that all federal employees must remove pronouns from their email signatures by 5PM today. pic.twitter.com/RlBv9VLUNL
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 31, 2025
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The move signals a clear shift in federal workplace policies as the administration continues to roll back Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
Internal memos obtained by ABC News confirm that both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) have issued instructions requiring staff to comply with the new directive.
Trump just banned Federal employees from virtue signaling with pronouns in their emails.
America is healing. pic.twitter.com/bgQMMph3uf
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) January 31, 2025
A memo from CDC Chief Information Officer Jason Bonander outlined the change in policy.
“Pronouns and any other information not permitted in the policy must be removed from CDC/ATSDR employee signatures by 5 p.m. ET on Friday,” Bonander stated.
Similarly, a separate DOT memo confirmed the same directive, with employees instructed to update their signature blocks by the deadline:
“Staff are being asked to alter signature blocks by 5 p.m. ET today (Friday, January 31, 2025) to follow the revised policy.”
All federal employees ordered to eliminate pronouns from all mail signatures by 5PM pic.twitter.com/dBAw0mazEY
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) January 31, 2025
The removal of pronouns aligns with an executive order signed by President Trump titled, “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.”
The executive order, signed earlier this month, explicitly states that the federal government will officially recognize only two sexes: male and female.
“It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female,” the order reads. “These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.”
Trump had previewed this policy shift during his inaugural speech, where he pledged to eliminate gender ideology from federal governance.
“We will forge a society that is colorblind and merit-based,” Trump stated. “As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female.”
Trump announces there are only two genders, male and female. Crazy world that this is a political issue at all. pic.twitter.com/u1BmRaaEvC
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) January 20, 2025
The decision to eliminate pronouns from federal email signatures marks a major departure from Biden administration policies that had encouraged their inclusion.
In 2021, during the first year of Joe Biden’s presidency, the Air Force became one of the first federal agencies to allow gender pronouns in official email signatures.
The policy was announced by Chief Information Officer Lauren Barrett Knausenberger, who issued a memo formally approving the change.
“This guidance provides approval for the use of pronouns in electronic signature blocks and expands on written communication by providing official templates posted on e-publishing website available for download,” the memo stated.
The Air Force policy further clarified:
“The use of pronouns (he/him, she/her, or they/them) in an email signature block is authorized but not required.”
The Biden-Harris administration’s stance on gender identity in federal workplaces stood in stark contrast to Trump’s new policies, which focus on eliminating DEI initiatives and gender ideology in government agencies.
At the time of this publication, it is unclear whether additional federal agencies have received the same directive regarding pronoun removal.
However, given the broad language of Trump’s executive order, it is expected that other departments will soon receive similar instructions.
This policy change is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to reinstate traditional definitions of sex and gender in federal policy and remove DEI-related mandates across government agencies.
More directives on workplace policies and employee communication guidelines are expected in the coming weeks.
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