Bad Precedent: The Trump-Pence Administration's Executive Order 13950 as Pretext for Republican Attacks on Academic Freedom

Abstract: 

The Trump-Pence administration’s Executive Order 13950 prohibited government employee training from facilitating antibias and antiracism discussions. In reaction to the executive order, many state legislatures wrestled with the question of what government entities, especially public education institutions, should teach regarding race, gender, LGBTQ+ identities, and US history. Although scholars have begun to consider the implications of educational gag orders for institutions, faculty, and students, there has not been a thorough examination of the partisan ideological network that birthed the modern era of erasure legislation and the role of the Trump-Pence administration in shaping these bills. This article explores how the Republican ideological network framed an issue the Trump-Pence administration amplified through Executive Order 13950, ultimately interfering with the purposes of the institution of higher education—and the potential implications of that interference for our broader society and democracy.

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