by Melanie Klein

Since January 20, 2025, new Presidential Actions, such as Executive Orders and Proclamations, have required federal agencies to subtly adjust what information they gather and how they ask for it. This is especially true when it comes to language about gender and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Federal data collections leave a digital trail on RegInfo.gov as they evolve, but some footprints are easier to spot than others.

Tracking ICR Activity

  • Between June 14 and June 20, 2025, 108 Information Collection Requests (ICRs) were submitted. Of those, a total of 10 ICRs were identified as having been submitted with changes in response to Presidential Actions. 

  • 8 of the 10 ICRs requested a “no material or nonsubstantive change to a currently approved collection.” This means minor changes can be made without extending the collection’s expiration date. Because these revisions don’t trigger a public comment period or a notice in the Federal Register, they can easily fly under the radar and move through a fast approval process.

  • The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) stood at the forefront of these changes, having submitted 6 ICRs with changes in response to Presidential Actions.

Bar chart titled "Number of Presidential Action-Driven ICRs Submitted by Agency" with a subtitle indicating the data includes ICRs submitted from 06/14/2025 to 06/20/2025. The x-axis lists agencies (HHS, DOC, DOD, DOL, and NSF), and the y-axis shows the number of ICRs submitted. HHS leads with 6 ICR submissions. DOC, DOD, DOL, and NSF each have 1 ICR submission. Each bar is blue, and ICR submission counts are labeled above the bars.

Presidential Actions Behind These Changes

Carefully reviewing each ICR from June 14 to June 20, 2025, allowed us to pinpoint exactly which Presidential Actions agencies used to justify their proposed changes:

  • 4 ICRs driven by EO 14168: Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, January 20, 2025

  • 3 ICRs driven by EO 14151: Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing, January 20, 2025

  • 1 ICR driven by EO 14148: Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions, January 20, 2025

  • 1 ICR driven by EO 14173: Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, January 21, 2025

  • 1 ICR driven by EO 14192: Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation, January 31, 2025

  • 1 ICR driven by Proclamation 10908: Adjusting Imports of Automobiles and Automobile Parts Into the United States, March 26, 2025

Bar chart titled "Number of ICRs Submitted with Changes Driven by Presidential Actions" with a subtitle indicating the data includes ICRs submitted from 06/14/2025 to 06/20/2025. The x-axis lists Presidential Actions (EO 14168, EO 14151, EO 14148, EO 14173, EO 14192, and Proclamation 10908), and the y-axis shows the number of ICRs submitted. EO 14168 leads with 4 ICR submissions and EO 14151 follows with 3 ICR submissions. EO 14148, EO 14173, EO 14192, and Proclamation 10908 each have 1 ICR submission. Each bar is blue, and ICR submission counts are labeled above the bars.

Notable Examples

To illustrate how Presidential Actions have shaped recent updates to data collections, here are 3 notable examples:

  1. DOL deleted equity statements from the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act report

    DOL submitted a nonsubstantive change request on June 17, 2025, for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Joint Quarterly Narrative Performance Report. Citing EO 14151, the change memo outlines the deletion of three equity-related statements. The first statement defined “equity” and “underserved communities” in the context of program development and implementation. The second statement allowed grantees to explain how their activities promote equitable service use among underserved communities and identify related challenges. The third statement welcomed discussion on how equity is considered in employer engagement strategies.

  2. HHS removed equity-related options from rural health care measures 

    HHS submitted a nonsubstantive change request on June 16, 2025, for performance measures under the Rural Health Network Development (RHND) Program, which aims to strengthen the rural health care system. Citing EO 14151, the change memo explains that “Translation Services” and “Health Equity/Social Determinants of Health” were removed as response options for types of service areas supported by grant funding. Additionally, the agency removed “Migrant Health Center” as a type of participant organization to “align with this Administration’s priorities.”

  3. ACF scrubbed DEI references from Child Welfare Information Gateway user surveys

    The ACF submitted a nonsubstantive change request on June 17, 2025, concerning user feedback surveys for the Child Welfare Information Gateway (CWIG). Citing EO 14151, the change memo details the removal of references to DEI. Specifically, it removed the option for users to indicate they were seeking information on “diversity and racial equity,” the option for users to identify their professional background as “diversity, equity, and inclusion practitioner,” and “content and images that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

How to Stay Informed

Our ICR tracker at dataindex.us is updated daily with newly scraped data to surface these changes as they are proposed. We review every ICR on a weekly basis so you don’t have to, and our Tuesday blog posts highlight the latest developments. These quiet shifts in the federal data landscape may seem small, but they deserve our attention. 

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