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The Trump administration is taking an unorthodox approach when it comes to advancing its anti-DEI agenda: Using the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) power over M&A deals to try and force companies to change or abandon their diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.
“Verizon has also committed to ending DEI-related practices as specified in the FCC’s record and has reaffirmed the merged entity’s commitment to equal opportunity and nondiscrimination,” Chairman Carr wrote in the decision. “This will ensure that the combined business will enact policies and practices consistent with the law and the public interest.”
Experts told Fortune that the FCC’s move to pressure companies into dropping their DEI policies is highly unusual. Matters related to discrimination are typically overseen by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), not the FCC, says David Glasgow, executive director of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at New York University.
“I think what we’re seeing from this administration is an attempt to be as creative as possible in thinking widely about what other agencies they can bring into this anti-DEI operation,” says Glasgow. “And what other tactics they can use that haven’t been done before.”
