Trump’s Executive Order Strikes a Major Blow Against Disparate Impact

I have to applaud Trump’s “Restoring Equality and Meritocracy” executive order—a crucial step toward reining in the outrageous “disparate impact” doctrine. This legal theory brands policies as racially discriminatory if they disproportionately affect protected groups, even when there is no intent to harm and even when it’s obvious that other factors—nondiscriminatory or economic—caused the disparities. Forget proving malice; under this doctrine, it’s all about statistical outcomes. It’s a perversion of justice, punishing the innocent for disparities they neither caused nor intended. Trump’s order is an admirable stand for merit and fairness, exposing how this doctrine breeds resentment and division. It’s a scandal that this rubbish, born from the Supreme Court’s 1971 Griggs v. Duke Power ruling, has poisoned our system for over 50 years.

The Obama administration, led by zealots like Thomas Perez—head of the DOJ Civil Rights Division and later Labor Secretary—turned disparate impact into a vicious weapon. They smeared businesses with baseless racism charges to push a divisive agenda, with no evidence required. Their most despicable attack? Targeting auto loan companies for allegedly discriminatory interest rates against Black and Hispanic borrowers. The CFPB used shady tactics, like guessing borrowers’ race based on surnames or zip codes, to accuse lenders who didn’t even collect racial data. Auto lender Ally Financial was bullied into an $80 million settlement in 2013 without admitting guilt—pure extortion. Perez’s crusade wasn’t about justice; it was designed to vilify honest companies as bigots.

This doctrine should never have happened. It fuels hatred by obsessing over group statistics instead of addressing real wrongs, betraying the true aim of the Civil Rights Act: stopping intentional discrimination. Trump’s order is a laudable call to end this madness and restore justice based on facts, not fictional disparities. We must hold race-baiters like Perez accountable, revisit flawed rulings like Griggs, and bury this divisive policy for good. The fight isn’t over, but Trump’s instincts on this are a good start. Disparate impact isn’t civil rights—it’s civil revenge.