President Donald Trump accomplished quite a lot in the first 100 days of his second term. According to The American Presidency Project, Trump signed over 140 executive orders during his first 100 days in office. This is almost as many as former President Joe Biden issued during his entire term in office. Several of these executive orders have had widespread impacts throughout the government and the country, such as his executive orders banning Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs. As reported by NBC News, President Trump effectively canceled several federal holidays that celebrate marginalized communities and people with these executive orders.
Can President Trump really cancel federal holidays?
After he signed the DEI executive orders, President Trump issued a memorandum. This document listed eleven holidays that the federal government will no longer commemorate in order to comply with Trump’s DEI executive orders. The executive orders don’t outright ban celebrations of these holidays. Trump can’t actually cancel any federal holidays via executive orders. According to the ACLU, executive orders are used to change policies at federal agencies. They cannot change federal or state law.
So, Trump’s DEI executive orders can prevent federal employees from getting time off for some of the holidays listed in the memorandum. They can also force all federal agency employees to stop celebrating these holidays while at work or in places where they represent their workplace. But he can’t use an executive order to prevent non-federal employees from celebrating any holiday. Since federal judges across the country are blocking the enforcement of Trump’s DEI executive orders, he might not succeed in canceling celebrations of these holidays within federal agencies either.
DEI executive orders have a major impact beyond canceling holidays
That being said, executive orders can still have a major impact on American citizens. Government agencies are responsible for administering programs that affect all Americans’ everyday lives. Trump’s DEI executive orders can force government agencies to revoke funding from federal programs that support people of the global majority, the LGBTQIA+ community, and other groups that have been historically persecuted.
Perhaps more importantly than their actual impact, these executive orders communicate what Trump wants to accomplish while he’s in office. Essentially, he intends to put a stop to “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” which has become shorthand for his ultra-conservative agenda.
So, exactly what holidays did Trump cancel? The holidays that Trump chose to list in that memorandum, and effectively ban for government employees, are telling.
Black History Month, and all other Heritage Months
Many of Trump’s executive orders related to halting DEI programs were signed during the last few days of January 2025. The timing was not random. He planned to sign the orders on the eve of his second presidential term’s first Black History Month, a clear message to the Black community. In case that wasn’t clear enough, the memorandum that outlined which holidays federal agencies would no longer commemorate included Black History Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month, and National American Indian Heritage Month.
However, Trump did issue the traditional proclamation declaring February Black History Month on January 31, 2025. His predecessors have done the same yearly since 1976, when the observance became a federal holiday.
In that proclamation, he even said, “I call upon public officials, educators, librarians, and all the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.”
Though this statement blatantly opposes the orders he issued to federal agencies, government officials made his position clear with their own statements, CNN reported. The Department of Defense stated, “Identity months [are] dead.” Other high-ranking government members, including Treasury Secretary Sean Duffy, publicly declared their refusal to celebrate Black History Month or other “identity-based observances.”
Juneteenth and MLK Day
Black History Month wasn’t the only holiday celebrating Black history that Trump’s executive orders canceled for federal agencies. Juneteenth and Martin Luther King Day were also included in the memorandum. This effectively erases all federal celebrations of holidays dedicated to Black folks and the Black community.
However, the memorandum specifically stated that the ban on federal celebrations of these holidays does not mean they will no longer be recognized as federal holidays. So, the federal government will still recognize Juneteenth and MLK Day each year, but it won’t commemorate them with any special events.
Though Trump’s executive orders have no impact on public celebrations of either Juneteenth or MLK Day, Newsweek reported that many cities are choosing to cancel or alter their Juneteenth celebrations. In New Jersey, a local NAACP chapter moved its Juneteenth event off federal property because of concerns that it would violate the executive order. In Oregon and Illinois, major cities canceled their celebrations altogether because organizers were concerned that the political climate could compromise participants’ safety.
Pride Month
Also encompassed by the vague term “identity-based observances,” Trump’s memorandum canceled Pride Month celebrations at all federal agencies. This aligns with Trump’s mission to eradicate what he and other ultra-conservatives call “gender ideology.”
In late January, federal employees received another memorandum ordering them to remove any content dubbed “gender ideology” from government websites, social media accounts, documents, and emails. Federal employees were even directed to remove pronouns from their email signatures. Trump has also been very clear about his intentions to ban gender-affirming care for transgender individuals.
Though Trump’s DEI-related executive orders don’t stop people from celebrating Pride Month, they have exposed brands that capitalize on Pride Month for sales. According to USA Today, several multinational brands that often run promotions or marketing campaigns for Pride Month have canceled their efforts because of pressure to cut back on DEI programs.
Women’s History Month and Women’s Equality Day
Though it hasn’t received as much attention as some of the other holidays canceled for federal agencies by Trump’s memorandum, Women’s History Month and Women’s Equality Day, celebrated annually on August 26, were also on the chopping block.
On the surface, this seems odd since Trump has positioned himself as a champion of women. He even gave an impassioned speech when he issued his official proclamation for Women’s History Month in March 2025.
“Together, we are working to honor the women in our history. No longer will our Government promote radical ideologies that replace women with men in spaces and opportunities designed for women, or devastate families by indoctrinating our sons and daughters to begin a war with their own bodies… By fulfilling my promise to protect women and girls from gender extremism we have brought back common sense to society.”
It doesn’t take a discerning eye to see that this statement addresses anti-trans hate rather than authentic support for women. It also doesn’t take a discerning eye to see that Trump’s other executive orders belie his so-called support for women. The SAVE Act, which supposedly protects against voter fraud, could prevent women who’ve changed their last names after getting married from voting. And Trump has been clear that he will continue to gut reproductive rights, preventing women from making decisions about their own bodies.
Holocaust Days of Remembrance
Trump’s outspoken support of Israel didn’t prevent him from canceling Holocaust Days of Remembrance events at federal agencies. As with Black History Month and Women’s History Month, Trump still issued an official proclamation commemorating Holocaust Days of Remembrance, even after directing federal agencies to stop acknowledging the holiday.
In the proclamation, he stated, “My Administration is proudly upholding the basic truth that anti-Semitism has no place in a civilized society. As President, I signed an Executive Order directing the Federal Government to use all available and appropriate legal tools to combat the explosion of anti-Semitic harassment in our schools and on college campuses — including through the removal of resident aliens who violate our laws. We are also steadfastly committed to investigating and swiftly punishing all anti-Semitic discrimination in leftist, anti-American colleges and universities.”
Again, Trump used an official proclamation about a holiday to make a statement about unrelated hot-button issues. Just days later, Trump fired multiple staff members from the board of trustees of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Per ABC News, the move was widely criticized for “politicizing” Holocaust remembrance.
Frequently asked questions:
What are all the holidays that President Trump canceled?
The complete list of holidays in Trump’s memorandum include:
- Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday
- Black History Month
- Women’s History Month
- Holocaust Days of Remembrance
- Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
- Pride Month
- Juneteenth
- Women’s Equality Day
- National Hispanic Heritage Month
- National Disability Employment Awareness Month
- National American Indian Heritage Month
Did President Trump create two new national holidays?
At the beginning of May, President Trump announced two new national holidays, according to The Hill. One will be celebrated on November 11, marking the end of World War I, even though November 11 is already Veteran’s Day. The second will be celebrated on May 8, to commemorate the end of World War II.
