Trump Administration Plans to Shutter Federal Contractor Watchdog

The Trump Administration’s 2026 budget proposes to shut down the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), the agency responsible for enforcing anti-discrimination and affirmative action requirements for federal contractors.

Impact not immediate: The move will require Congressional approval of DOL’s budget request through the appropriations process for the 2026 Fiscal Year, which starts September 1, 2025, and may require legislative changes to transfer the agency’s remaining authority to the EEOC.

Writing on the wall: The decision to fully shut down the OFCCP was telegraphed by President Trump’s Executive Order targeting private sector DEI initiatives, which rescinded affirmative action requirements for federal contractors. Enforcing those requirements was the main function of the agency.

• The Executive Order left in place federal contractor anti-discrimination requirements related to disabled and veteran employees. Enforcement responsibility for these provisions will be transferred to the EEOC under the proposed budget.

EEOC’s expanded role: Although many expected the Trump administration to significantly scale back the OFCCP’s authority—particularly around affirmative action—some speculated the agency might instead be repositioned as the administration’s primary anti-DEI enforcement tool. The decision to shut down the OFCCP and transfer its remaining authority to the EEOC confirms that it is the EEOC, not the OFCCP, that would assume that role.