Federal employees across multiple departments were instructed to remove personal pronouns from their email signatures by 5 p.m. Friday, as agencies scrambled to implement President Donald Trump’s executive order against promoting gender ideology.
An email to U.S. Department of Agriculture staff, obtained by USA TODAY, told employees to “recreate their signatures” in compliance with Trump’s order and an updated style guide that excludes pronouns.
ABC News reported that staff at the Centers for Disease Control and the Transportation Department also received similar directives. According to the New York Times, employees at the State Department, the Labor Department, and the Department of Veterans Affairs were given the same order.
A memo from the Office of Personnel Management issued on Wednesday also mandated federal departments and agencies to remove all regulations, forms, communications, and webpages that “inculcate or promote gender ideology” by Friday evening. It further instructed agencies to place employees whose roles involve “promoting gender ideology” on paid leave and to ensure that all agency policies and documents use “sex” instead of gender, among other changes.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has already begun updating its website, removing pages that addressed health disparities among LGBTQ youth and supporting LGBTQ+ youth. The State Department also made changes by removing “LGBTQ” and replacing it with “LGB” (lesbian, gay, and bisexual) on its travel advisory page.
Trump has previously signed executive orders prohibiting the federal government from assisting with gender transitions for individuals under 19 and barring transgender service members from the military.
