WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed four new executive orders on Wednesday afternoon, including three related to topics of education or college campuses – an issue the Republican party has put an emphasis on in recent election cycles.
The three separate new actions focus on rooting out “indoctrination” in the nation’s classrooms, boosting school choice and combating antisemitism.
The first order states that no federal funds will go to K-12 schools that promote what the White House describes as gender ideology and critical race theory. The text of action asserts that parents have “witnessed schools indoctrinate their children in radical, anti-American ideologies while deliberately blocking parental oversight.”
It says civil rights laws barring discrimination based on sex and race would be used to enforce the order, calling critical race theory an “inherently racist policy.”
The action also requires the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Attorney General, to present Trump with a strategy to end indoctrination in the nation’s elementary and high schools. The president’s picks to lead his Education, Health and Human Services and Justice departments have yet to be confirmed.
During his campaign, Trump said he would sign an order “on day one” to cut federal money for schools that push critical race theory or other “inappropriate” content. He also has floated the idea of eliminating the Education Department entirely.
Meanwhile,Trump’s new order, centered on what he calls school choice, directs the education secretary to prioritize programs in the Department of Education’s discretionary grant programs that boost options. The order involves multiple other federal agencies, including the Defense Department, Health and Human Services, and the Interior Department.
The White House argues that school choice programs, which allow families to use public money to attend a school outside of their assigned district, save taxpayer dollars and improve student academic performance.
Lastly, the president also sought to address the rise in antisemitism on college campuses, which saw widespread protests over the Israel-Hamas war last year.
The new action mandates the Department of Justice “marshal all federal resources" and take immediate action to investigate and punish antisemitic crimes, specifically pointing to vandalism and intimidation. It also calls for the deportation of nonresident aliens who “violate our laws,” citing previous threats by Trump to revoke student visas for international students who attended pro-Palestinian protests.
The president on Wednesday also signed an order focused on celebrating the nation’s 250th birthday on July 4, 2026, including creating a task force to coordinate on the occasion.
It came hours after Trump announced a new action directing the opening of a detention center at Guantanamo Bay to house migrants in the U.S. without legal status. He signed that Presidential Memorandum along with the education-focused executive orders.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.