Yesterday, January 20th, President Trump was inaugurated into office for the second time. He signed dozens of Executive Orders (EOs) covering a broad range of issues. Some of the EOs won’t take effect immediately, and many are expected to be immediately challenged in court.

Our colleagues at the National Council of Nonprofits (NCN) have done a great job in providing the information here, edited for relevancy in Oregon’s unique situation. Here’s what we know so far about those EOs that will directly or peripherally impact the charitable nonprofits.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Trump rescinded dozens of EOs or memorandums issued by President Biden including most EOs related to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, and those creating equity for LGBTQ+ and other historically marginalized communities. Specifically, the rescission order rescinded three Biden Orders that expanded DEI in federal government programs, the federal workforce, and underserved communities, all of which had been held up in the courts. A separate EO directs the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management to coordinate with all federal agencies to terminate all DEI programs in federal agencies, including equity related grants, and equity action plans.

A Trump official told a group of reporters that more actions impacting DEI initiatives in the private sector may be coming soon.

Immigration

Trump signed EOs declaring a national emergency at the southern border  and revoking birthright citizenship. That EO has already been challenged in court by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and has been deemed by many law scholars as unconstitutional. Birthright citizenship has long been protected under the 14th Amendment. President Trump’s EO revokes that right when the person’s mother was unlawfully in the US and the father was not a US citizen or permanent resident or the mother’s presence was lawful but temporary and the father was not a US citizen or permanent resident.

President Trump also issued a sweeping EO entitled “Protecting the American People Against Invasion.” This EO:

  • Directs relevant federal agencies to take action to remove undocumented immigrants from the country,
  • Directs the creation of statewide Homeland Security Taskforces and detention centers,
  • Requires the identification of all “unregistered illegal aliens”,
  • Directs relevant agencies to take action to block federal funding to sanctuary cities,
  • Requires all federal agencies to ensure undocumented immigrants do not receive any public benefits and more.

Possible impacts on government contracting

President Trump also signed EOs to:

Census

Trump also rescinded Executive Order 13986: Ensuring a Lawful and Accurate Enumeration and Apportionment Pursuant to the Decennial Census. This previous Order required all persons, regardless of citizenship or immigration status, to be counted in the Census and lays the groundwork for legislation and other actions to not include noncitizens in the count. The National Council of Nonprofits previously submitted an amicus brief when this issue was heard by the U.S. Supreme Court for the 2020 Census.

Nothing Yet on Nonprofit Nonpartisanship

Throughout the day yesterday, President Trump referred multiple times to “stopping government censorship and bringing back free speech.” This language was concerningly similar to his 2017 EO attempting to revoke nonprofit nonpartisanship (e.g. the Johnson Amendment) through “promoting free speech and religious liberty.” However, the text of the EO on “restoring freedom of speech and ending federal censorship” is not related to nonprofit nonpartisanship, but rather of Trump’s and other conservative commentors’ social media accounts being banned in previous years. However, troubling language in the EO claims that the federal government “infringed” First Amendment rights “[u]nder the guise of combatting ‘misinformation,’ ‘disinformation,’ and ‘malinformation’.”

Other

President Trump signed additional EOs to rescind previous Biden orders that:

  • Required executive employees to commit to an ethics code and not accept gifts from lobbyists;
  • Established the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships;
  • Directed federal agencies to provide access to voter information;
  • Promoted the arts, humanities, and museum and library services.
  • Require foreign assistance to be disbursed in a manner aligned with the foreign policy of the President. The EO places a 90-day pause on foreign development assistance.
  • Establish the Department of Government Efficiency to implement the DOGE Agenda, modernize federal technology and software and provide access to all unclassified agency records, software systems, and IT systems.
  • Roll back progress on addressing climate change (through several EOs).

Resources for Immigration Actions

Related to immigration actions, the Trump administration was planning a week-long immigration raid in Chicago beginning tomorrow morning — but the plan leaked in the WSJ, and now they’re rethinking the when and where. There’s little doubt, however, that raids are coming soon. Many nonprofit organizations are concerned and looking to understand their legal rights and responsibilities in such scenarios. Here are some resources that you may want to share with your members and partners:

Next Steps

This is just the beginning of a wave of actions promised by the Trump administration, and we expect many more EOs and official actions in the coming days and weeks. NAO will be working with the network of State Associations and with the National Council of Nonprofits team to monitor these executive actions (and congressional legislation) that can impact the nonprofit sector, and we’ll share updates as we have them.

Please consider joining NAO to keep up with additional breaking policy issues that impact charitable nonprofits. Your membership supports our ability to bring you this information.