Trump Administration’s Expanded “Global Gag Rule” Targets Diversity and Inclusion Abroad, Prompting Global Backlash

The Trump administration is preparing to expand its so-called “global gag rule,” extending restrictions on U.S. foreign aid to include organizations and governments that promote diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) or “gender ideology,” sparking alarm among global health and human rights groups.

According to The Guardian, the move, which builds on the long-standing Mexico City policy, would deny U.S. funding to foreign governments, non-governmental organizations and international agencies that support DEI initiatives, even outside of U.S.-funded projects. The policy, in effect under every Republican president since Ronald Reagan, currently prohibits funding to groups that provide or promote abortion services.

Critics say the proposed expansion represents an unprecedented intrusion into other nations’ sovereignty and threatens to dismantle critical health programs. “Such a move... would be an insidious encroachment on sovereignty,” said Beth Schlachter, senior director at MSI, a global reproductive health organization. “It risks causing real human suffering, undermining global health and destabilizing decades of progress.”

Health experts warn that programs targeting vulnerable groups — including women, LGBTQ+ people and adolescents — could be shuttered if the DEI ban takes effect. Rajat Khosla, director of the Partnership of Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, said the expanded rule could have “unimaginable effects,” including rising deaths, violence and disease rates as clinics close and targeted care ends.

The administration has defended the plan as part of its “America First” foreign policy agenda. A senior State Department official said the goal is to ensure “every penny of U.S. foreign assistance prioritizes American values, not the woke agenda.”

Global health advocates argue the rule would extend far beyond abortion, imposing ideological tests on humanitarian aid and disaster relief. “It’s not just about what can be done with U.S. funds,” said Beirne Roose-Snyder of the Council for Global Equality. “It’s about controlling what governments and NGOs do, everywhere.”

Human rights organizations are urging nations to reject the conditions tied to U.S. funding, warning that accepting them could roll back decades of progress in global health and equality.