Yet rather than again steering U.S. global engagement on women’s rights in a more conservative direction, the second Trump administration has dismantled the bipartisan policy architecture that sustained those efforts. In doing so, the White House has overturned more than six decades of policy precedent, including from Trump’s first term.

When U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, it was clear that the U.S. approach to women’s rights and gender equality around the world would shift. Republican administrations have long diverged from Democratic ones on this front, favoring women’s economic empowerment and private-sector development over broader campaigns to challenge traditional gender norms or expand reproductive rights.

When U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, it was clear that the U.S. approach to women’s rights and gender equality around the world would shift. Republican administrations have long diverged from Democratic ones on this front, favoring women’s economic empowerment and private-sector development over broader campaigns to challenge traditional gender norms or expand reproductive rights.

Yet rather than again steering U.S. global engagement on women’s rights in a more conservative direction, the second Trump administration has dismantled the bipartisan policy architecture that sustained those efforts. In doing so, the White House has overturned more than six decades of policy precedent, including from Trump’s first term.

The U.S.