Executive Order 13985 was a directive signed by President Joe Biden on January 20, 2021, ordering every federal agency to identify and remove barriers that kept underserved communities from fully accessing government programs and benefits. It carried the title “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.” It stayed in force for exactly four years before President Trump revoked it on January 20, 2025.1The American Presidency Project. Executive Order 13985 – Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government
What the Order Required
The order set a working definition of equity for the federal government: consistent and systematic fair, just, and impartial treatment of every person, including those in communities historically denied that treatment. Agencies were told to use this definition as a measuring stick when reviewing their own programs. A grant process or contracting rule that produced unequal outcomes along racial, geographic, or economic lines could be flagged as a barrier.1The American Presidency Project. Executive Order 13985 – Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government
The order also listed which populations counted as underserved. That list included Black, Latino, Indigenous and Native American, Asian American, and Pacific Islander communities and other people of color. It covered religious minorities, LGBTQ+ individuals, people with disabilities, rural residents, and people affected by persistent poverty or inequality. The broad scope meant nearly every agency could identify populations in its jurisdiction that qualified for closer attention.1The American Presidency Project. Executive Order 13985 – Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government
Section 4 gave the Office of Management and Budget six months to study how agencies could measure whether their policies were creating or worsening barriers to equal participation, and to report back to the President with recommended methods. Section 6 acknowledged a historic failure to invest sufficiently and equally in underserved communities and directed OMB to find ways to promote equity in the President’s budget and in how federal funds were allocated. The order itself set no dollar targets, but it laid groundwork that later initiatives built on.1The American Presidency Project. Executive Order 13985 – Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government
The Equitable Data Working Group
Section 9 created the Interagency Working Group on Equitable Data to address a basic problem: many federal datasets weren’t broken down by race, ethnicity, gender, disability, income, veteran status, or other demographics, so agencies couldn’t tell whether their programs reached everyone equally. The group was co-chaired by the Chief Statistician of the United States and the U.S. Chief Technology Officer, with representatives from OMB, the Census Bureau, the Council of Economic Advisers, and other agencies.1The American Presidency Project. Executive Order 13985 – Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government
In April 2022, the group published “A Vision for Equitable Data.” Its core recommendation was to make disaggregated data the default across federal surveys and administrative records while protecting individual privacy. It also called for revising OMB standards on race and ethnicity, setting best practices for measuring sexual orientation and gender identity, expanding protected access to matched federal datasets for equity research, and increasing statistical capacity across agencies.2The White House. A Vision for Equitable Data
The 2023 Follow-Up Order That Added Teeth
On February 16, 2023, Biden signed Executive Order 14091. Where EO 13985 focused on studying problems and building tools, EO 14091 imposed concrete, recurring obligations. Each major agency head had 30 days to establish a dedicated Agency Equity Team. A White House Steering Committee on Equity, chaired by the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, was created to coordinate work across the executive branch. Starting in September 2023 and every year after, every agency had to submit a public Equity Action Plan alongside its budget submission to OMB.3The American Presidency Project. Executive Order 14091 – Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government
EO 14091 also set a hard procurement target: the government-wide goal for federal contract dollars going to small disadvantaged businesses would rise to 15 percent by fiscal year 2025, well above the longstanding statutory goal of 5 percent. The order additionally told agencies to consider equity when designing and using artificial intelligence and automated systems.3The American Presidency Project. Executive Order 14091 – Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government
What Agencies Did Before Revocation
Between 2021 and early 2025, the framework produced measurable results. Federal contract dollars earned by small disadvantaged businesses rose from $62.4 billion in fiscal year 2021 to a record $69.9 billion in fiscal year 2022. The Department of Transportation moved from 18.2 percent to 21.25 percent of direct contract dollars going to small disadvantaged businesses over the same period, and the Department of Defense hit 10.25 percent, exceeding its own year-end target.4The White House. White House Equity Action Plan Progress Report
Agencies also stood up new internal structures. The Department of Veterans Affairs established an Equity Assurance Office within the Veterans Benefits Administration to track disparities in disability, housing, and GI Bill benefits. The EPA added “advance justice and equity” as a fourth foundational principle in its strategic plan and created a new Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights. The General Services Administration published the first Supplier Diversity and Equity Action Plan for the federal marketplace.4The White House. White House Equity Action Plan Progress Report
How and When It Was Revoked
Executive Order 13985 was revoked on January 20, 2025, through a presidential action titled “Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions.” The same action directed the Domestic Policy Council and the National Economic Council to review every federal action taken under the revoked orders and move to rescind, replace, or amend them.5The White House. Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions
A separate order signed the same day, “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” went further. It gave every agency head 60 days to terminate all equity action plans, equity-related grants and contracts, and DEI or DEIA offices and positions. Agencies had to compile lists of every equity-related program, budget, and expenditure that existed as of November 4, 2024, and assess whether any had been relabeled to keep operating under a different name.6The White House. Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing
A third order, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” revoked additional orders that had supported the equity framework, including the 1994 Environmental Justice order (EO 12898) and the 1965 Equal Employment Opportunity order (EO 11246).7Federal Register. Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity
EO 13985, its 2023 successor EO 14091, and the programs built under them no longer carry legal force. The equity offices, data initiatives, and procurement targets described here reflect what existed between 2021 and early 2025.