How to use this list. These terms have been reported as flagged, deprioritized, or subject to added scrutiny in internal guidance at various federal agencies (NSF, NIH, USDA, DOE, EPA) since January 2025, following related executive orders on DEI programs and federal climate/energy policy. This is not an official or legal document — agency posture on specific terms shifts, differs by program, and has been subject to legal challenges. Before submitting any proposal, verify current language guidance directly with the specific funding agency's active NOFO/solicitation and your program officer or sponsored programs office. Use judgment: a replacement that obscures the actual science or population being studied can create its own problems with reviewers.
Source documents.
Federal — White House presidential actions index:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/
Federal — Federal Register, 2025 Executive Orders index:
https://www.federalregister.gov/presidential-documents/executive-orders/donald-trump/2025
Search this index for "Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing" (signed Jan 20, 2025) and "Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity" (signed Jan 21, 2025) for the exact permalinks/citations.
Executive Order 14260 — Protecting American Energy From State Overreach (signed April 8, 2025; 90 FR 15513):
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/04/14/2025-06379/protecting-american-energy-from-state-overreach
Directs the Attorney General to identify and challenge State laws/policies addressing "climate change," ESG, "environmental justice," or carbon/greenhouse gas penalties that burden domestic energy production — relevant context for why "climate change" framing is being scrutinized at the federal level.
Texas — Governor's executive orders index:
https://gov.texas.gov/news/category/executive-order
Texas's primary DEI action was Senate Bill 17 (2023), banning DEI offices/hiring at public universities, effective Jan 1, 2024 — this is state law, not a numbered executive order.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/
Federal — Federal Register, 2025 Executive Orders index:
https://www.federalregister.gov/presidential-documents/executive-orders/donald-trump/2025
Search this index for "Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing" (signed Jan 20, 2025) and "Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity" (signed Jan 21, 2025) for the exact permalinks/citations.
Executive Order 14260 — Protecting American Energy From State Overreach (signed April 8, 2025; 90 FR 15513):
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/04/14/2025-06379/protecting-american-energy-from-state-overreach
Directs the Attorney General to identify and challenge State laws/policies addressing "climate change," ESG, "environmental justice," or carbon/greenhouse gas penalties that burden domestic energy production — relevant context for why "climate change" framing is being scrutinized at the federal level.
Texas — Governor's executive orders index:
https://gov.texas.gov/news/category/executive-order
Texas's primary DEI action was Senate Bill 17 (2023), banning DEI offices/hiring at public universities, effective Jan 1, 2024 — this is state law, not a numbered executive order.
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