Washington– Minister of State Marco Rubio He ordered diplomatic correspondence to stop using the Calibri font and return to the traditional Times New Roman font effective Wednesday, reflecting the Biden administration’s shift to the less formal font that he called extravagant, confusing and unbecoming of the dignity of U.S. government documents.
“Printing shapes how official documents are viewed in terms of coherence, professionalism and formality,” Rubio said in a cable he sent to all US embassies and consulates abroad on Tuesday.
In it, he said that the switch to sans serif Calibri in 2023 appeared misleading Diversity, equity and inclusion policies He was followed by his predecessor, Anthony Blinken. Rubio ordered an immediate return to the Times New Roman font, which was among the standard fonts imposed by previous administrations.
“This switch was promised to alleviate accessibility issues for individuals with disabilities,” the cable said, stressing that it did not achieve that goal and cost the administration $145,000, but provided no evidence.
Since taking over the State Department in January, Rubio has systematically dismantled DEI programs in line with President Donald Trump’s policy. Broader instructions for all federal agencies. The Trump administration says the goal is to return to purely merit-based standards.
Rubio did Offices and initiatives were abolished Created to promote and advance diversity and inclusion, including in Washington and at foreign embassies and consulates, it also ended foreign aid funding for DEI projects abroad.
“While the switch to Calibri was not among the administration’s most illegal, unethical, radical or wasteful instances of DEI, it was cosmetic,” according to a Rubio cable obtained by The Associated Press and first reported by The New York Times.
“The switch to Calibri has achieved nothing but deterioration of the department’s correspondence,” he said, adding that it also clashed with the font on the State Department’s letterhead.
According to a separate memo sent to administration staff, the return to Times New Roman takes effect on Wednesday and all official document templates will be updated to remove the offending Calibri font.
The only exceptions are documents prepared for international treaties and presidential appointments, which must use Courier New 12-point font, the memo said.