The Secretary of State Marco Rubio has directed that diplomatic communications cease employing the Calibri font and revert to the more conventional Times New Roman, commencing Wednesday. This decision overturns a change made by The Biden administration to the less formal typeface, which he characterized as a waste of resources, a source of confusion, and unsuitable for the gravitas of official U.S. Government papers.
TL;DR
- Secretary Marco Rubio mandates a return to Times New Roman for diplomatic communications, ending Calibri use.
- Rubio cited waste, confusion, and unsuitability for official U.S. Government papers as reasons for the change.
- The switch from Calibri, implemented by the Biden administration, was linked to DEI policies and cost $145,000.
- Rubio has been eliminating DEI initiatives since January, aligning with President Trump's federal agency directives.
“Typography shapes how official documents are perceived in terms of cohesion, professionalism and formality,” Rubio said in a cable sent to all U.S. Embassies and consulates abroad Tuesday.
Within it, he stated that the 2023 transition to the sans serif Calibri typeface originated from ill-conceived diversity, equity and inclusion policies championed by his predecessor, Antony Blinken. Rubio directed an immediate reinstatement of Times New Roman, a font that had been among the default typefaces required by prior administrations.
“The switch was promised to mitigate accessibility issues for individuals with disabilities,” the cable said, asserting that it did not achieve that goal and had cost the department $145,000 but did not offer any evidence.
Since assuming leadership of the State Department in January, Rubio has deliberately eliminated DEI initiatives, aligning with President Donald Trump’s broader instructions to all federal agencies. The Trump administration asserts that the objective is to revert to standards based solely on merit.
Rubio has abolished offices and initiatives that were established to encourage and cultivate diversity and inclusion, such as in Washington and at international embassies and consulates, and also halted international aid for DEI initiatives beyond the U.S.
“Although switching to Calibri was not among the department’s most illegal, immoral, radical or wasteful instances of DEI it was nonetheless cosmetic,” according to Rubio’s cable obtained by The Associated Press and first reported by The New York Times.
“Switching to Calibri achieved nothing except the degradation of the department’s correspondence,” he said, adding that it also clashed with the typeface in the State Department letterhead.
A separate internal memo distributed to staff members indicates that the switch back to Times New Roman will commence on Wednesday, and all official document templates must be revised to eliminate the problematic Calibri typeface.
According to the memo, the sole exceptions to this rule are documents prepared for international treaties and presidential appointments, which must be rendered in 12-point Courier New font.
