Marco Rubio bans Calibri font at State Department for being too DEI

The Calibri typeface has become the latest unexpected casualty of the Trump administration’s crackdown on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility initiatives.

In a move that has drawn comparisons to satire outlets like The Onion—and is likely to inspire sketches on shows such as Saturday Night Live or South Park—U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered diplomats to stop using Calibri in official documents. Instead, staff have been instructed to revert to Times New Roman, according to a leaked internal memo obtained by The New York Times.

Calibri, a sans-serif font, was introduced at the U.S. Department of State in 2023 during the Biden administration. At the time, the department’s DEI office—now dismantled under Rubio as part of the Trump administration’s broader anti-DEI agenda—selected the font to improve readability and accessibility for employees and readers with visual impairments.

Sans-serif fonts, which lack the decorative strokes found at the ends of letters, are often considered easier to read for people with dyslexia, low vision, and similar conditions. Their cleaner appearance and slightly wider spacing are generally viewed as more accessible, though studies on whether serifs themselves significantly affect readability have produced mixed results.

In his memo, Rubio designated Times New Roman as the official font for his tenure, arguing that the change would “restore decorum and professionalism” to State Department communications. While he acknowledged that Calibri was not the “most illegal, immoral, radical or wasteful” example of DEI, he nonetheless criticised it as contributing to what he described as a broader “degradation” of the department’s written correspondence.

Opinions about Calibri vary widely. Many people across the political spectrum dislike the font—an informal poll of TechCrunch writers found little love for it—but even so, some observers felt Rubio’s assessment was unusually harsh for a typeface.

According to reporting by The New York Times, there was already internal pushback within the department when Calibri was first adopted in 2023. Font choices, much like sports teams, tend to inspire strong loyalties and rivalries, with individuals holding firm preferences.

Calibri declined to comment on how “woke” it might be. Still, many typographers and readers would agree that Times New Roman carries a distinctly old-fashioned feel. Even The New York Times itself abandoned the font nearly twenty years ago.

The State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.