White House says it didn’t create a banned word list, leaves language choices up to agencies

The White House does not have a list of banned words that are restricted from use in official documents, and instead charges individual agencies with word choice in government documents, Fox News Digital learned.

Media outlets in recent weeks have promoted reports that the Trump administration has banned hundreds of words from official documents, including words such as “diverse” or “LGBTQ” or “unconscious bias.” 

An administration official told Fox Digital that the White House does not have a list of banned words. Instead, individual agencies hold discretion over word choice in compliance with President Donald Trump’s executive orders. 

Trump has signed 92 executive orders since his inauguration in January, including ones that have targeted diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the public and private sectors, as well as ones addressing transgender issues, such as banning biological men from playing in women’s sports or banning transgender surgical procedures for children. 

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President Donald Trump joined by women athletes signs the “No Men in Women’s Sports” executive order in the East Room at the White House on Feb. 5, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

A handful of the executive orders rescinded Biden-era policies, such as ending DEI programs that were woven into the fabric of the federal government during his term. 

The New York Times reported that about 250 words were removed from the Trump administration’s lexicon or used with discretion. The list included a handful of words that could defy Trump’s executive orders on trans issues and DEI, including: “they/them,” “breastfeed + people,” “antiracist,” “people + uterus” or “confirmation bias.” 

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President Donald Trump and DEI book.  (Getty Images)

In February, the White House hit back on a report that Food and Drug Administration officials were instructing scientists to stop using words such as “woman,” “disabled” and “elderly” in external documents, as they were on an alleged FDA list of banned words for the administration. 

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A White House official told Reuters in February that the majority of words listed as allegedly banned did not need to be removed from external communications and documents, arguing the agency likely misinterpreted Trump’s executive orders on gender ideology. 

The White House specifically identified words such as “gender,” “inclusion,” “identity,” “diversity,” “intersex,” “equity,” “equitable,” “transgender” and “trans” as ones that do not need to be prohibited in order to comply with Trump’s executive orders, according to Reuters. 

The Biden administration, for example, used the phrase “birthing people” instead of “mothers” in a 2022 budget proposal before the phrase — and similar ones such as “menstruators” — were used by other federal officials and agencies.  (Jon Elswick/Associated Press)

Presidential administrations have a long history of adjusting the language used in their official documents and external communications in an effort to realign the federal government with the administration’s policies and vision for the future. 

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The Biden administration, for example, used the phrase “birthing people” instead of “mothers” in a 2022 budget proposal before the phrase — and similar ones such as “menstruators” — were used by other federal officials and agencies. The Obama administration favored the phrase “undocumented immigrants” versus “illegal immigrant” in official text and presidential speeches.