From Calibri to Times New Roman: What sparked America’s latest font war and how it ties to Trump’s anti-DEI push

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered the State Department to stop using the Calibri typeface and return to Times New Roman for all official documents, reversing a change introduced under the Biden administration. The directive was sent in a cable to US diplomats, Reuters reported. The message said the shift was meant “to restore decorum and professionalism to the Department’s written work products and abolish yet another wasteful DEIA program.”

Calibri became the standard font for State Department documents in 2023. Officials under President Biden said the font was easier to read for people with visual disabilities because of its cleaner design. Calibri is a sans serif typeface, which means its letters do not have decorative strokes. This simplicity can help readability for people with dyslexia or other visual challenges.

The decision to abandon Calibri has upset the font’s creator, Lucas de Groot. He told The Independent that calling it a “wasteful diversity font” was “both hilarious and regrettable.” De Groot explained that “Calibri was specifically designed to enhance readability on modern computer screens and was selected by Microsoft in 2007 to replace Times New Roman as the default font in the Office suite.” He said serif fonts like Times “tend to appear more distorted” at small sizes on digital displays.

De Groot added that while serif fonts are seen as traditional, they are “more demanding to use effectively.” He noted that using Times in its default digital form “is not considered professional practice.”

Rubio’s order states that Times New Roman will again be used for all State Department documents beginning Wednesday. A State Department spokesperson said the switch supports the president’s “One Voice for America’s Foreign Relations” directive. According to the spokesperson, Times New Roman is viewed as “more formal and professional.”

Supporters of the change say serif fonts look more elegant and create clearer distinctions between letters. Times New Roman has long been linked with government tradition. It has been used by the White House, the Supreme Court, other federal agencies and even on the side of Air Force One.

The New York Times reported that many diplomats are unhappy with the sudden reversal. Morale has already been strained because of other changes Rubio has introduced. Some traditionalists, however, had objected earlier when former Secretary of State Antony Blinken switched the department to Calibri and increased the standard font size from 14 point to 15 point.

The font reversal comes as President Donald Trump continues efforts to eliminate what he calls “woke” and “DEI” initiatives inside the federal government. In January, he signed an order to end “radical and wasteful government DEI programmes and preferencing.” Since then, several federal employees working on diversity initiatives have reportedly been placed on leave, and agencies have been told to scale down such work.

Some of these measures have faced legal challenges, and attempts to restrict DEI programs in schools have already been struck down in court.