It is clear that President Trump will soon begin an aggressive campaign to put an end to diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the private sector. In particular his Department of Justice will seek to apply the Supreme Court’s reasoning when in 2023 it struck down affirmative action in college admissions.

This strategy must be resisted, by defending private diversity-promoting policies as designed to eliminate discrimination.

Trump’s initial salvo in his war against private-sector DEI is an executive order declaring that DEI violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It directs that within 120 days, the Department of Justice will submit to the White House a “strategic enforcement plan” to cause “the private sector to end illegal discrimination and preferences, including DEI.”

The order requires that each relevant federal agency identify potential compliance investigations to be brought against major corporations, large not-for-profits, foundations with more than $500 million in assets and state and local bar associations. Potential federal lawsuits and regulatory actions must be identified.

At the 30,000-foot level, promoting diversity helps address our utter failure in recent years to secure the

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