Marco Rubio instructs diplomats to use Times New Roman font, eliminating Biden-era diversity initiative
In Washington, a fresh font shift has been announced at the State Department. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered that all diplomatic correspondence revert to the classic Times New Roman typeface, sharply criticizing his predecessor for switching to Calibri. Two years earlier, Antony Blinken had moved the department’s official font to the wider, softer Calibri, claiming it would improve readability for people with low vision and dyslexia. In a document now dubbed an “action request,” the text of which Reuters and the New York Times accessed, Rubio declared: “Switching to Calibri achieved nothing except the degradation of the department’s official correspondence.” The state‑of‑the‑art choice of Times New Roman, with its compact and formally shaped letters, has been in use since 2004, when the department abandoned Courier New—a monospaced font often seen in screenplays. Rubio called the Calibri switch “wasteful” in his December 9 cable to personnel, writing: “To restore decorum and professionalism to the Department’s written work products and abolish yet another wasteful DEIA program, the Department is returning to Times New Roman as its standard typeface.” He added: “This formatting standard aligns with the President’s One Voice for America’s Foreign Relations directive, underscoring the Department’s responsibility to present a unified, professional voice in all communications.” The State Department has yet to respond to the Post’s request for comment. Studies cited during the Calibri transition suggested the wider font might aid those with visual impairments, but the conclusions have divided experts. Meanwhile, during Donald Trump’s second term, his administration has sought to dismantle Biden‑era diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies in federal agencies and encouraged the private sector to do the same.
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