President Donald Trump’s campaign against diversity initiatives has claimed a new casualty — the font used by US diplomats.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered diplomats to stop using the Calibri font, calling it a “wasteful” example of diversity initiatives established under former president Joe Biden.
Rubio instead directed staff on Tuesday to return to the serif typeface Times New Roman in an effort to “restore decorum and professionalism to the department’s written work,” according to memo sent across the State Department that was confirmed to AFP.
Rubio’s predecessor Antony Blinken in 2023 switched to the sans serif font Calibri because its rounded letters with wide spacing are considered more accessible for people with disabilities.
Some studies have found sans serif typeface is easier to read.
“Typography shapes how official documents are perceived in terms of cohesion, professionalism and formality,” Rubio wrote in the memo to staff.
Trump since taking office has taken aim at diversity and inclusion policies, going so far as to threaten federal funding for universities over longstanding programs aimed at helping historically disadvantaged groups.
Rubio in the memo said the 2023 switch to Calibri “achieved nothing except the degradation of the department’s official correspondence.”
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