Marco Rubio — now serving as U.S. Secretary of State — has ordered the U.S. State Department to abandon the sans-serif Calibri font and reinstate Times New Roman as its standard typeface for all official documents. The directive, sent in a memo titled “Return to Tradition,” frames the previous switch to Calibri — made in 2023 under former Secretary Antony Blinken — as a “wasteful” DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility) initiative that failed to deliver promised improvements in readability or accessibility.
Rubio argued that Times New Roman better reflects the decorum and professionalism appropriate for diplomatic communications, calling Calibri “informal” and misaligned with the department’s official tone. The change extends to all written outputs, both internal and external, and affects every U.S. embassy and consulate worldwide.
The shift marks another move in the broader rollback of DEI-related changes at federal agencies under the current administration, underlining a return to traditional formatting and stylistic standards across government communications.