Dear John,

On Thursday, Trump took a long-expected step in his radical plan to dismantle much of the federal government and signed an executive order aimed at shutting down the Department of Education. 

Of course, actually shutting down the DOE is far more complicated than Trump makes it seem: doing so would require an act from Congress. But the Order will still do substantial damage. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday that the Department would not be completely shut down, but would rather continue to administer “critical functions,” at a drastically reduced size and scale. 

The Executive Order will have an outsized impact on women and girls, students of color, students with disabilities, and other marginalized groups of students. The DOE is critical in distributing funding to schools to support school districts serving students from poor communities and students with disabilities, as well as in enforcing student civil rights protections—like Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in schools that receive federal funding. Trump has already rolled back Biden’s expanded Title IX protections, which included explicit protections for trans students. And he has specifically targeted the Department’s enforcement mechanism—the Office of Civil Rights—which is tasked with enforcing civil rights protections for marginalized students.

What’s more, the gutting will mean decreased data collection—meaning its impact will be impossible to quantify. “Trump’s massive staff cuts and promise to shutter the DOE means no staff capacity for oversight, like data collection and research, and no way to tell if children are getting services for their learning disabilities or are achieving and no way to protect them from discrimination,” writes The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights’s Maya Wiley in Ms. this week, also pointing out that the cuts are generally unpopular, with 60 percent of Americans opposing the Department’s closure, according to recent polls. 

We also learned this week that Trump’s DOGE had violently taken over the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP), an independent, non-profit organization established by Congress that helps broker peace agreements and prevent violent conflicts. Members of DOGE reportedly physically broke into the organization’s offices, and there have been reports of vandalism and shredded documents. In an emergency ruling, a federal judge permitted the destruction to continue, refusing to grant USIP the temporary restraining order they had requested against DOGE. “This week's events further signal that the Trump Administration and Elon Musk have no desire to actually make America safer, stronger or more prosperous,” said Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH). “Their goal is to recklessly dismantle historic U.S. institutions piece by piece.
 
It’s quite clear that over the next period we must fight to sustain the progress we’ve made — even as we look for ways to move forward. That progress includes the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. The almost 2-year-old landmark civil rights law that affords pregnant and postpartum workers an explicit right to reasonable workplace accommodations to protect their health and keep their jobs is at once a lesson in and laboratory for participatory democracy. But is it safe... or will it be threatened by the Trump administration’s crusade?

Our latest Women & Democracy collaboration, produced in partnership with A Better Balance, explores the history and impact of the PWFA—with commentary from experts and the advocates who helped bring it into existence. I encourage you to explore some of the essays from the project below. 

We’ll be exploring these and more questions in an event at Georgetown on April 7, as we look at the Trump actions in the first 100 days—and how Americans are fighting back in the courts, the streets and with their dollars. Join us virtually—we’d love to see you there! 

Onward,

Kathy Spillar

Executive Editor

Tune in for a new episode of Ms. magazine's podcast, On the Issues with Michele Goodwin on

Apple Podcasts + Spotify.

As we reckon with an administration hostile to equal rights, feminists will continue to fight. To help keep hope, we must remember and celebrate recent wins.

One of those wins is the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which took effect on June 27, 2023. This is a landmark piece of legislation that prohibits discrimination and ensures workplace accommodations related to pregnancy for workers. But is the PWFA safe, or will it be threatened by the Trump administration’s crusade against reproductive rights and justice?

We hope you'll listen, subscribe, rate and review today!

U.S. democracy is at a dangerous inflection point—from the demise of abortion rights, to a lack of pay equity and parental leave, to skyrocketing maternal mortality, and attacks on trans health. Left unchecked, these crises will lead to wider gaps in political participation and representation. For over 50 years, Ms. has been forging feminist journalism—reporting, rebelling and truth-telling from the front-lines, championing the Equal Rights Amendment, and centering the stories of those most impacted. With all that’s at stake for equality, we are redoubling our commitment for the next 50 years. In turn, we need your help, Support Ms. today with a donation—any amount that is meaningful to you. We are grateful for your loyalty and ferocity.

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