President Trump signed a multitude of Executive Orders (EOs) during his first two weeks in office. EOs are directives from the President to federal agencies that do not require Congressional approval. EOs include mandates that take immediate effect and others that require some groundwork by federal agencies to effect, such as the drafting of implementing regulations.

While Congressional approval is not required for EOs, nearly all government actions require funding to accomplish, and Congress can refuse to appropriate funds for any EO that it wants to block. In addition, the President can rescind his own EOs before they take effect, which, while unusual, could happen given the Trump Administration’s actions to date. Thus, it is important to track agency action following an EO to understand how the ultimate legal requirements take shape. Not every EO will be implemented completely (or at all).

Several of President Trump’s initial EOs could directly impact government contractors. Fox will be tracking these EOs in the coming months and will provide updates on what government contractors need to know.

Here are some of the EOs to watch:

Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity

This EO revokes a long list of Executive Orders including EO 11246 (Equal Employment Opportunity), which established requirements for nondiscriminatory hiring practices in federal contracting. It prohibited federal contractors from discriminating against employees based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin, and mandated affirmative action programs to promote equal employment opportunities.

This EO also ends ongoing affirmative action programs and policies in government contracting. Contractors will no longer need to maintain affirmative action plans or programs. Section 3(b) also directs the Department of Labor Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) to cease promoting diversity, holding federal contractors and subcontractors responsible for taking affirmative action, and “allowing or encouraging Federal contractors and subcontractors to engage in workforce balancing based on race, color, sex, sexual preference, religion, or national origin.” OFCCP announced on January 24, 2025, that it would immediately stop all investigative and enforcement efforts under EO 11246.

On the other hand, the EO signals that there will be increased enforcement efforts to “end illegal discrimination and preferences, including DEI” by the Department of Justice under the False Claims Act. The EO requires agencies to include a term in every contract or grant stating that compliance with Federal anti-discrimination laws is material to the government’s decision to pay claims for purposes of the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3729(b)(4). The EO also seeks recommendations from agencies on how the Trump Administration may further encourage the private sector to end diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) discrimination, including through litigation and targeted compliance investigations.

Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing

This EO terminates both government DEI and environmental justice programs “to the maximum extent allowable by law.” Section 2(b)(i) states that federal agencies must terminate all equity-related grants or contracts, and all DEI performance requirements for contractors and grantees.

Section 2(b) also requires agencies to provide the Director of the OMB with a list of all federal contractors who have provided DEI training or training materials to agency or department employees. It also requires agencies to provide recommendations on actions to “align agency or department programs, activities, policies, regulations, guidance, employment practices, enforcement activities, contracts (including set-asides), grants, consent orders, and litigating positions with the policy of equal dignity and respect.”

This EO could affect any contract or grant that an agency determines to be “equity-related,” including terminating them for convenience. Further, while the small business set-aside programs administered by the Small Business Administration remain intact, the Trump Administration’s focus on eliminating DEI could threaten the Women-Owned and 8(a) small business designations in the near future. In any event, contractors should expect shifts in federal acquisition planning and evaluation criteria for future contract awards.

Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government

This EO states that federal policy will now recognize only male and female sexes, and not the concept of gender identity. The EO prohibits the use of federal funds to promote gender ideology and requires agencies to update the President regarding the requirements it has imposed on federal contractors and other federally funded entities to achieve the new policy within 120 days. Contractors should expect some agency effort to align future (and possibly existing) contracts to this policy.

Application of Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Application Act to TikTok

Congress passed and President Biden signed into law the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which banned TikTok due to national security concerns. Section 2 of this EO directs the Attorney General and Justice Department to suspend enforcement of the TikTok ban for 75 days. Although the Trump Administration elsewhere has signaled its intent to reconsider the TikTok ban, this EO states that it “shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.”

This language likely means that the Administration will leave FAR 52.204-27 (Prohibition on a ByteDance Covered Application), which prohibits TikTok on certain federal contractor IT systems, in effect. Until federal contractors hear otherwise, the best course of action is to continue to follow the applicable law banning TikTok from covered devices.

Unleashing American Energy

The Trump Administration has pivoted away from the “Green New Deal” and its focus on renewable or “clean” energy towards “affordable and reliable energy and natural resources.”

Section 4 of this EO rescinds 12 EOs from the Biden Administration regarding clean energy and climate change, and mandates termination of any contract or agreement stemming from the entities and programs established under those executive orders. Contractors impacted should expect to receive stop-work orders in the coming days or weeks and will need to put together termination proposals to recoup their costs to date.

Section 7 orders agencies to review their related financial disbursements and contracts under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The OMB recently issued a memorandum, “Guidance Regarding Section 7 of the Executive Order Unleashing American Energy,” to clarify that the mandated review applies only to funds supporting programs, projects, or activities involving clean or renewable energy-related projects, and not to other infrastructure projects under the IRA or IIJA. Contractors involved with clean or renewable energy-related federal projects should expect a decrease in or elimination of such opportunities.

Securing Our Borders

President Trump took a step towards the border wall in this EO directed at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Section 3 authorizes the DHS to take “all appropriate action to deploy and construct temporary and permanent physical barriers to ensure complete operational control of the southern border of the United States.” This signals the potential for new long-term federal construction contract opportunities.

Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions

The Trump Administration also rescinded a multitude of EOs issued by the Biden Administration, which included several EOs relevant to federal contractors. Some of these EOs were yet to be implemented, but contractors may have been preparing nonetheless:

  • Executive Order 13989 (Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel): Aimed to maintain ethical standards in the Executive Brand (e.g., lobbying gift bans, revolving door bans, and “Golden Parachute” bans).
  • Executive Order 14110 (Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence): Directed agencies to take action to regulate the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology to ensure “safe, secure, and trustworthy AI systems, ” and set forth standards for the use of AI in federal contracting.
  • Executive Order 13985 (Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government): Directed the Government to revise agency policies to account for racial inequities in their implementation. Agencies were to ensure in part that there were no barriers to “full and equal participation in agency procurement and contracting opportunities” to “underserved communities and individuals.”
  • Executive Order 14055 (Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts): Required federal contractors and subcontractors on covered Service Contract Act procurements to offer jobs to qualified employees from the predecessor contract. The Department of Labor published a Final Rule, but the FAR Council had not yet developed a rule to bind contractors.

Federal agencies are still determining the best way to comply with these EOs, so federal contractors should continue to closely monitor developments. In this uncertain environment, federal contractors would be wise to stay informed on further EOs and OMB guidance, as well as the legal challenges that will likely follow.